Pandamonium
by Yeelimso
Summary: There's an exchange student in Marinette's new class and he's not very nice. Then, to make things worse, there is a new "hero" from another foreign country. Ladybug is very suspicious of random heroes popping up after Volpina and she isn't sure if this new "Silver Panda" is as nice and heroic as she seems. How is Marinette going to survive this semester?
1. Hero or Villian? (Ch1)

**So I've decided to rewrite the story since I forgot my original intentions...**

* * *

A girl with pigtails sighed as she walked towards her school. The girl's name was Marinette Dupain Cheng. Marinette was a French high school student during the day and a masked hero whenever a villain appeared. Her eyebrows here furrowed and she held a tight frown on her face. She couldn't stop thinking about the incident that happened a day ago.

…

"Milady!"

A masked boy with wild blonde hair that resembled a cat called out to his partner. He is Chat Noir, Ladybug's (Marinette's) hero partner. The duo made the Paris heroes, fighting off akumatized victims and purifying them within the city.

Chat Noir's brilliant green eyes grew wide in shock and terror as he ran to the edge of the Eiffel Tower. He skid down and reached his hand out to grab Ladybug's outstretched hand. His love was falling. Their fingers brushed against each other before she continued to plummet down to the ground.

"Ladybug!"

Chat Noir thought about jumping after his love. He normally wouldn't have to mind her fall because she would have her yo-yo with her. However-

Chat Noir looked at his feet and noticed that Ladybug's yo-yo was tied around his leg. The akuma laughed as they pulled the yo-yo back, trying to drag Chat Noir towards them. Chat grabbed the edges of the tower's pole.

 _Ladybug! I'm so sorry!_

Chat Noir swore in his head. Both Chat and Ladybug were not able to use their respective powers and only had a few minutes left on the clock before they detransformed. It was already too late. Who would've thought that such a fierce akuma would appear?

He used his strength to pull himself over the edge to at least see his partner before she departed.

.

Ladybug closed her eyes as she watched Chat Noir get dragged away. This was the end of Paris and its heroes. A tear escaped as she cried about her failure. She didn't want to die, but Hawkmoth was willing to do anything to ensure he got the miraculous from the heroes.

It was the end!

Fwip!

"Ladybug!"

Ladybug's eyes flung open at the sound of her partner. Arms wrapped around her waist and Ladybug realized the different direction of the wind. The wind wasn't battering her down, she was going up? Unconsciously, Ladybug tightened her grip on the body holding her.

"Chat Noir," Ladybug turned to the person holding her. "How-?"

Ladybug's own eyes widened in shock again as she saw a new face. A determined girl with soft, silver eyes wearing a silver mask held her tightly.

The new masked individual held Ladybug tightly and jumped from one pole to another quickly ascending to the top where Chat Noir and the akuma was. Ladybug was gently let down as the girl dusted her hands with a few claps.

She was wearing a suit similar to Ladybug and Chat Noir: a turtleneck, skin tight suit, except she resembled a panda. From her arms to her hands and her legs were silver in color and she had a white bag that resembled a panda's tail. She had small silver cotton balls pinned on her head as the 'ears' Ladybug deduced.

She held four blocks of wood that was slimmed down and coated in wax. They had silver writing engraved on them and the wood seemed to have a slight golden color to it. Tossing a block the akuma hissed and ran up further to the top of the tower and she followed it.

The yo-yo loosened on Chat Noir's leg and he quickly scrambled towards his partner. He gave her an overbearing hug as he checked her. His green eyes were filled with worry.

"Ladybug! I thought you were a goner! I'm so glad you're okay!"

Ladybug blinked, snapping out of her shock. Her eyes drifted to the new masked girl to the side and she let out a barely audible whisper.

"Me too…"

The stranger was following the akuma to the top, ignoring the dangers. Her silver arms the bars that would help her go up to the climax. Her black braided hair that was swung over her left shoulder was pressed tightly against her suit as she proceeded up with great speed.

Chat Noir grabbed Ladybug tightly in one hand as he led her towards her yo-yo.

"Are you ready to go, Milady?"

Ladybug's eyes snapped back to Chat Noir and she dusted her legs. Bending down, she grabbed her yo-yo and swung up without a word. From the corner of her eyes she could see Chat Noir following her without a question, proving his loyalty to his partner.

When the two heroes of Paris made their way to the climax, the girl was holding an unconscious akuma in one hand and she had a ruler in her other hand. She looked at the duo and smiled politely as she snapped the ruler. She then watched in awe from the butterfly flying out as if it was her first time seeing an akuma despite being a heroine. Ladybug quickly took action when she saw the butterfly.

Chat Noir took the civilian from the other hero as the panda hero fled the scene quickly. Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the butterfly escaping and yelled.

"Bye bye little butterfly! Miraculous Ladybug!"

The heroes made it down to the ground and Ladybug never felt so happy to be on the ground again without the danger of death.

Chat Noir greeted Ladybug with a smile before he dashed off as his ring clicked down to the second to last paw print. Ladybug heard her own earring start beeping, warning her about the time she had left of being masked. Before running off, Ladybug looked around for any notion of the girl that ran off beforehand. There was nothing there. Ladybug explained the situation to the victim and then reassured their wellbeing before she found a place to transform back to her civilian state.

"Tikki, spots off."

…

"What's with the long face, Marinette?" Tikki, Marinette's Kwami, looked at Marinette with a worried look. "Is something bothering you?"

"The girl from the other day," Marinette replied, "The other masked individual. I don't know if she's a friend or foe. Especially since she recently appeared after Volpina and we both know that Volpina was a fraud!"

"Marinette," the little Kwami scolded, "Don't get so caught up on it! She saved you right? Plus, it's about time for school now. Focus on your schoolwork and we can discuss the other girl later."

Marinette let out a large sigh and stretched. She slapped her cheeks and nodded.

"You're right Tikki!" Marinette confidently walked into the school and up to her classroom. She was exhausted and tired, but Tikki said wise words. Marinette had to deal with something else first and it was school.

The small amount of energy Marinette gathered dissipated as she walked in the classroom and noticed a large commotion. In front of the classroom, Adrien was holding hands with another person. A boy, Marinette deduced as she slowly walked into the classroom.

Adrien was the love of Marinette's life. He was cute and strong and not to mention a famous, beautiful teenage model. His porcelain, white skin with his beautiful green eyes and that luscious blonde hair- holding hands with another-!

Envy clouded Marinette's eyes as she watched with jealousy at the lucky individual who was holding the hand of her prince.

Then Marinette felt dumb.

The boys were having an arm wrestle, nothing stupid like holding hands. Marinette gently reprimanded herself and her imagination for thinking that the new boy was holding hands with Adrien.

The boy wore a simple white tee with standard jeans. From her angle, Marinette could barely make out embroidery of a flower at the left end of his shirt. He had black hair braided down his back and it reached a little past his shoulder blades. His honey golden eyes were narrowed in nothing but boredom as sweat rolled down Adrien's forehead.

The boy's eyes wandered around until the honey eyes noticed Marinette's blue ones. He then looked away and sighed before easily bringing down Adrien's hand.

The boy had won the match.

Screams and outraged sounds were heard along with excited murmurings and challenges. Marinette decided to look for her friend to figure out what exactly happened and what she witnessed.

It didn't take long to find Alya. Alya was filming the arm wrestle and was now making it back to her seat so that she could watch. the video she just caught.

"Marinette!" Alya waved at Marinette with a grin and wove her over. Marinette took her seat next to Alya easily sliding in. "Come here!"

"What happened?" Marinette asked, tilting her head lightly.

"The new kid picked a fight with Adrien," Alya answered with excitement. "You should've come to school earlier, girl! That boy was provoking Adrien so much so that your little teddy bear snapped! He apparently came from East Asia," Alya supplied. She wove her hand dismissively as she continued speaking, "He's also our new classmate and a transfer for a month or something. I think it's just the quarter. He has no control over his temper. He just strutted in the classroom without a warning or a greeting and gave off a sour attitude. A little while later he sought out a fight with Nino and Adrien defended Nino from the bully and then they decided to have a showdown!"

"So I walked into… the brawl…" Marinette drawled out. She glanced at the golden eyed boy who stood in front of the classroom, waiting for Ms. Bustier, the homeroom teacher.

"You know," Alya leaned in Marinette's ear, "with the way he won so easily over Adrien makes me think that he was playing with lover boy the entire time!"

Marinette huffed, "What's his name?"

"Mister Mysterious over there didn't tell us anything," Alya shot back with a conniving smile. Alya waved her phone by the tips of her fingers. "Sounds like a big scoop for me."

When Ms. Bustier came in she introduced the Asian boy to the class easily.

"This is Lee, he's from East Asia and is currently visiting Paris because of his parents' work!" Ms. Bustier smiled, through the bitter tension, "He had to leave his friends back in his country and is going to stay with us until his parents let him go home. Everyone please give Lee a warm welcome!"

"What is his last name?" Adrien asked as he raised his hand.

"It's not a full introduction without his last name," Chloe snipped.

Marinette recognized the cold, unwelcoming air from the class. The nicer kids had awkward vibes around them, but the general opinion of Lee was bad… probably because he had sought out a fight with Adrien on his first day here. Also because of the introduction… it summed up to:

He is in Paris against his will and he had to leave his friends back home with no way of contacting them without a working phone in Paris. Maybe something else, but he didn't seem to have the electronics on him.

Marinette felt slightly offended at how Lee made it obvious that he didn't like his temporary life here in Paris. Paris was splendid, beautiful and amazing! How could he not like it here? Marinette sighed, judging by everyone's reactions, the possibility of Lee becoming an outcast was rather high. She should at least try to make room for Paris in Lee's heart. Marinette decided that she will make Lee's transfer time at Paris as great as possible.

"His last name…" Ms. Bustier trailed off as she glanced over at Lee with a slight panicked look. "Is Lee..."

"Hahaha!" Chloe laughed, "His name is Lee Lee!" She teased him loudly, a few students snorting or snickering with Chloe. But nobody stopped it. Ms. Bustier looked at Lee worriedly.

Lee just shrugged and made a seat next to Ivan. Ivan looked a little uncomfortable, but Marinette believed in the big guy. He was sweet, so at least Lee wouldn't be sitting next to someone who was reliable and nice.

…

After school, Marinette walked over to Lee. She was hoping to talk to the boy before he went ahead to his home.

"Waah!"

"Woah!"

Marinette clutched her head as someone clung onto her to ensure that both of them didn't fall to the ground.

"Sorry about that-" Marinette cut off her apology when she realized she bumped into Adrien. "Wow- er- sorry about that! Hi- so- umm- Lee! Gotta go now, sorry! Yeah, bye!" After sputtering out nonsense Marinette stumbled away from Adrien. Adrien grabbed Marinette's hand (again) causing her to flush.

"I'll go with you, Marinette," Adrien smiled. "I don't mean to be cruel or mean of some sort but, I don't like the vibe he's giving off. He could be nicer, you know?"

Marinette felt like squealing. Adrien was worried about her! He was going to walk with her! He was holding her hand!

But…

Marinette didn't like the cautious look on Adrien's face or the way his weary eyes scanned Lee. It made her feel a little queasy. Squishing her unsure emotions, Marinette walked over to Lee with Adrien.

"I don't like how he thinks he's better than all of us," Adrien said slowly. Marinette looked to the other side. Adrien must've noticed her reaction to his animosity.

"I know," Marinette confessed, "But I want him to give Paris a chance. I don't want his stay here to be bad memories. What if he tells all his friends that Paris sucks?"

Marinette sneaked a glance towards Adrien and saw him closing his eyes. Adrien let out a quiet sigh before reopening his eyes.

"That's a great resolve, Marinette. I'll help you. I wouldn't want him to go home and tell all his friends that Paris stinks, either." Adrien snorted mentally, if he has any friends…

Marinette blushed, unaware of Adrien's inner hatred. She smiled widely at Adrien and his encouragement before Marinette breathed in, steeling her resolve. She walked over to the boy who looked a little lost.

"Lee?" Marinette tapped on his shoulder lightly.

Lee whipped his head backward and faced Marinette. His braided hair whipped Marinette on the face and it stung a lot. She didn't say anything about the stinging pain and kept her smile. However, behind her, Marinette could feel Adrien's dislike towards the Asian boy.

"What?"

Lee's voice dripped with intense hatred that caused Marinette to shudder. His golden eyes dulled when he saw Adrien. Marinette was surprised at how she didn't notice the lack of a spark in his eyes. He had no life in his eyes and although they shined in the morning, they seemed dim as the sun set. She would hate to see his eyes in the dark.

Marinette felt a lump form in her throat and the radiating hatred from Adrien did not help one bit. The intense staring from the dead eyes made Marinette more uncomfortable.

"What?'

Lee asked again, his voice akin to growling.

"Would you like a small tour of Paris?" Marinette found the words she withheld all spill out. "I mean, well, you seem like a nice guy and I sort of want to learn about your country too! You never mentioned what specific country from East Asia you were from either! Err, I'm half Chinese, ya? Plus, I was also thinking that-"

"We could be friends?"

Lee finished the sentence for Marinette and phrased it more like a question. His golden eyes were stone cold as Marinette nodded slowly, frightened of his response. Lee sighed and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could his phone rang.

Marinette froze as well as Adrien. It was assumed that Lee wasn't able to talk to anyone through calling or messaging because he was in another country. It only meant that his cellphone accepted calls internationally.

Lee was automatically frustrated, but Marinette saw something that she wanted to see again. His eyes held a spark of life, even if it was annoyance, there was a vague sense of joy. Lee pulled his hair over to the front and stroked it as he spoke rapidly in his native language. He was obviously cut off in the middle of his sentence when he took in a sharp breath and huffed out contained anger. Lee threw his hair back to the back and looked up at Marinette.

"Sure," he replied. Then he stalked off angrily with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Something must've happened in the call," Adrien stated the obvious. "Also, he didn't speak Chinese or Japanese."

"Then…?" Marinette looked at Adrien confused. Adrien sighed and smiled at Marinette.

"He's Korean."

…

A girl in a panda suit was standing on the peak of the Eiffel Tower. She looked down upon the city of Paris that the tower stood so proudly on with moonlit silver eyes. She was stroking her hair, avoiding the small hair band that kept her braid together.

She sighed unhappily at her current predicament. The situation she had come to prevent was not evident. She didn't patrol, but kept a look out for any weird signs of harmful activities or a disruption in normal civilian life. She prayed for no trouble or danger in Paris, but she also held the slight hope that there would be little trouble somewhere so she would be needed. So she could finish her mission.

*Ring*

The wood in her bag vibrated along with a sound. She stifled from the shock of a call and pulled the wood form her purse. They formed a square, instead of showing the face she was used to seeing, it formed an endless vortex. She didn't bother saying hello, knowing it was useless. Slowly she crouched on the climax of the tower and turned the face of the square so that it was facing the sky and not her. She didn't want to see the endless swirls, she only wanted to listen.

"어? 은씨! 오랜만 이야! 나야나, 금 개. 잘 지냈어? 한국 다시 언제와? 대화 할 시간이되면 전화 해."

The girl sighed and murmured about voicemail. Her round eyes were soft with pity as they scanned the troubled city.

"야, 금 개. 한국은 괜찮아? 내가 프랑스에 갔니 힘들지? 지금은 모든 사람들 안전히있어. 시간 때문에 전화 해도 서로 얘기를 할 수 없을거야... 그래도 시간이되면, 나 한테 전화 해두대. 끊너."

She let her own voice speak softly in the light wind caressing her. She then made the wood disappear and sat alone in the dark.

Unknown to her, a certain blogger was taking a midnight stroll. As the moon decided to cast a shadow of the Eiffel Tower, the shadow of a lonely girl came with it. The blogger took quick photos ready to spread word and notice on her blog. She only had a few seconds to take the picture which came out blurred. The figure above had jumped off to the other side and disappeared.

The blogger ran in hopes of gaining a better picture, but was greeted with the darkness of Paris at night. She sighed, making assumptions weren't her thing.

'A Hero or A Villain?'


	2. My Name is Lee (Ch2)

Marinette gasped as she viewed the new post on the Ladyblog. The suspicious figure was spotted again! This time by a civilian, Alya.

Marinette studied the picture thoroughly with a frown on her face.

The shadow was dark and the figure on the moonlit stage was captured just as they were going to run away. The figure was blurry and the shadows of the Eiffel Tower and the figure were black. The accompanying video didn't help at all either. It was almost impossible to stop it during the millisecond the figure was visible. The figure was fast.

Marinette let out a frustrated wail. It wasn't like she couldn't spend the whole day researching and come up with nothing. But she had to go to school. Tikki was also worried, Marinette could tell, but Tikki also wanted Marinette to do well in her civilian life. Tikki wove her tiny hands, fins?

"Marinette?"

"I'm okay, Tikki," Marinette hummed. "I'm just worried about Hawkmoth's plans. If she is an akuma then Hawkmoth had two akumas out at the same time or two victims in a row. If there is a different akuma, the girl is still a problem. We don't know her motives."

Marinette started to list out her worries as she plopped on her bed.

"I'm just worried."

"Marinette…" Tikki looked at Marinette with a frown. She wanted to help Marinette, but was-

"Marinette! You'll be late for school!"

Tikki squealed and dived into Marinette's purse as Marinette's mother peeked from the door.

Marinette shot up like a jet and grabbed her purse before running towards the door.

"Ahh! I forgot about the time!" Marinette gave two quick pecks to each parent before sprinting towards her school. With her dizzy mind, Marinette thought to herself. _Am I really going to be able to save everyone?_

Once Marinette reached school, she ran up three stairs at a time using the railing on her left to get up faster. Just then Marinette bumped into someone and felt her body leaning backwards from the impact.

She was going to fall down the stairs.

A hand shot out, pushing the person that Marinette bumped into and grabbing a hold of Marinette's hand. The strong hand pulled Marinette forward and then they fell to the floor of the second floor. Marinette was on them, panting. Adrien looked at Marinette with worry.

"Are you okay Marinette?"

Marinette opened her mouth and was about to answer until she realized that it was Adrien who saved her. Marinette couldn't thank Adrien nor think straight because her face got extremely hot and red and she could only speak babble. Adrien got up slowly before dusting himself.

"Are you sick Marinete?" Adrien looked at her in worry, "You shouldn't have come to school if you are sick."

Marinette sputtered again when Adrien offered to help her on her feet by stretching out a hand.

"Need help?" He asked.

"Huh, I wonder about that," someone else answered.

Both the standing Adrien and the sitting Marinette looked over to the railings and noticed a hand holding onto the rails. Marinette crawled over to the railings while Adrien walked and they both looked down to see Lee holding onto a bar with a displeased expression.

He looks irritated, his yellow eyes staring into Marinette's soul. She bumped into him and he only watched her fall. He watched her with clouded eyes and with the distant look Marinette realized he wasn't attempting to help her when she bumped into him and almost fell.

Still, he needed help.

And she noticed something in his eyes she wanted to erase from her memories when she was about to fall. As Marinette prepared to help Lee, Adrien grabbed her arm back.

"Don't. He's not worth it. That guy was about to just let you fall down the stairs," Adrien fumed. "Plus, he's strong enough to pull himself up."

Marinette blinked a couple of times. She never heard Adrien so mad before. He was very angry, and Marinette could guess why. Someone that Adrien already didn't like was going to watch a friend fall down the stairs.

"Guess I'm not getting any help then. Is that your justice?" Lee questioned. Marinette watched the eyes shift their gaze to the person behind her. "What makes you the better person?"

"My justice is caring for my friends," Adrien stated confidently.

Marinette was about to gush until she realized that Adrien could possibly only think of her as a friend and nothing else. Wait, what was she even thinking about right now?! What about Lee?!

"I thought I was your friend?"

Marinette felt Adrien's grip on her arm slack and she could understand why. Questions and confusion clouded her mind when Lee said he believed Adrien to be his friend. She heard Adrien take a sharp breath, before he spoke.

"If you are my friend, why did you let Marinette fall?"

Lee's eyes moved from Adrien to Marinette. Then he mouthed at her, something she could read easily.

'You chose your love over your justice.'

Marinette felt her heart drop. She understood his message clearly. Her justice was to save Lee, but since it was Adrien holding her back, she wasn't sure what to do, leading to the situation that the trio was in right now.

"I guess I'm just Marinette's friend then," Lee sighed.

Adrien's eyes searched for an apology, Marinette realized this fact when she looked up to see him. Lee was unwilling to give an apology.

Lee shook his head and let his hand slip from the bars.

Marinette watched with round eyes as Lee fell. She shot up and shook off Adrien who too, was in a state of shock. With her outstretched hand, Marinette tried to grab Lee's hand. Lee skillfully avoided Marinette's hand and fell to the ground.

"Lee!"

Lee landed and then rolled over before standing up. There was barely any sound other than the bell ringing. He landed safely and was walking back up the stairs with ease.

"If you are going to feel guilty about letting me fall," Lee stated as he walked up slowly, "Don't be. It was your justice and I'm not hurt. But," Lee gazed at Adrien with a frown, "The world doesn't circle around you. I left my family and friends to come here for some boring crap and you're not making it better for me. This world has people with perspectives you wouldn't understand or know about."

Marinette watched Lee lecture Adrien as he walked to the classroom door. He paused in front of the door and tilted his head to look at Marinette and Adrien who were stiff behind him.

"I came here because of a job, and it's a job I intend to finish whether you're in my way or not."

Marinette was the first to recover and she quickly pulled Adrien to the classroom door. Ms. Bustier looked a little confused, but didn't mention how late the duo was.

At the end of class, Marinette watched Lee escape the room on his own. Apologizing to Alya, Marinette ran ahead to catch up to the transfer student, hoping to get some answers from him. He still thought that Marinette was his friend.

Then, someone grabbed her arm for the second time today. It was Adrien.

Adrien was staring at Marinette, green eyes brimming with emotions.

"I don't want you near him, Marinette," Adrien spoke. Both Marinette and Adrien knew who was being referred. "He's dangerous and cruel; the incident this morning explains everything. If you did fall down the stairs today, something really bad could've happened."

"…"

Marinette looked for an answer in her own heart this time, unwilling to be swayed by Adrien's concern. Adrien's concern was heartwarming and it genuinely made Marinette happy, but she didn't want to make the same mistake she made this morning.

"Lee's my friend," Marinette stated. "And I want to believe in my friends no matter what."

Adrien's worried frown broke into a small smile and he let her go. Marinette smiled at Adrien and thanked him before running off towards Lee.

But she couldn't see him anywhere.

Marinette sighed, she was unable to find him. With determination flooding her veins, Marinette swore to meet Lee later.

…

Marinette looked over to the book she had from last time. Tikki stared at Marinette with her big blue eyes and then said.

"You promise to meet the Master tomorrow with the book? You know it's very important."

"I know Tikki," Marinette responded coolly. "You told me many times that it was and I fully intend on finding him tomorrow to give him the book."

…

"Milady?"

Ladybug turned to face her cat partner. It seems he was curious about last night as well.

"Are you here because of the figure spotted last night?" Chat Noir asked as he joined Ladybug on her patrol.

"That I am," Ladybug answered. "Any thoughts?"

"If it's another akuma," Chat Noir groaned, "He's getting stronger. If it's another hero, we're in luck!"

Ladybug sighed; she did not want to deal with a stronger Hawkmoth. It would mean more danger for Paris and less time for her to actually do schoolwork.

"I hope it's not another victim-"

"There's a victim?"

Ladybug froze at the new voice. Someone cut her off, and it was someone she didn't know. They were at the top of a roof so it would be impossible for some civilian to be there with them. Slowly, Ladybug turned to face the newcomer. It was the girl from the other day.

"Hello there, heroes of Paris," she smiled.

Ladybug noticed Chat Noir silently swallow his saliva.

"Hey there majesty, to what do we owe you the pleasure of meeting you?"

The masked girl gave a soothing laugh, her warm silver eyes a light by the moon. They spared a glance at Ladybug before focusing on her partner.

"'Majesty'? I heard of 'mistress', but not 'majesty'," as she smiled her eyes twinkled with the billions of stars in the sky. "It's not bad, simply amusing." Ladybug noticed that the graceful girl had a soothing atmosphere around her. But did this perfect, innocent like girl really have pure intentions of helping Paris?

"Who are you?" Ladybug asked with a clipped tone. The Volpina incident was recent and still fresh in her mind. She wasn't sure if the girl thought that Ladybug was in debt for saving her the other day, but she hoped that the girl would not call that in her favor.

"Woah," Chat Noir glanced at his partner in shock. "Ladybug?"

Ladybug felt defensive. She understood her position and the debt of her life being saved and her identity along with Chat Noir's being saved but she wasn't sure. There was something off about the hero in front of her and Ladybug could feel her instincts go awry.

"Why don't you introduce yourself first?" The girl deflected the question. "It is common courtesy to reveal oneself before asking for another's identity."

Ladybug felt her defense rising unconsciously. The girl in front of her was no amateur. The experience of being asked the question was high and she was starting to intimidate Ladybug. Ladybug was going to be childish and state that she 'asked first', but Chat Noir mediated the situation quickly.

"I'm Chat Noir!" Chat Noir basically jumped in between the two girls. "That's Ladybug and we're partners. As you mentioned, we are the heroes of Paris." Chat Noir looked at Ladybug apologetically. Ladybug shook her head as a sign of forgiveness and Chat Noir's eyes brightened up.

"Eun Panda, my name is Eun Panda, nice to meet you," she smiled softly and her eyes were still glittering. There was still something so wrong with the picture of Eun Panda. "Though, feel free to call me Silver Panda. If I remember correctly, Silver is the translated version of Eun. I don't mind being called Silver either."

Silver Panda, sat down on a chimney with ease. She motioned the two heroes of Paris to sit in front of her. Ladybug did what was suggested along with Chat and they sat in front of her on the roof. The thing that bothered Ladybug the most was how Silver Panda was looking down from her position on the chimney to the Paris Heroes.

"I am a hero myself, no need to suspect me of anything. Although, I have heard about a certain fake hero incident and you have my deepest condolences for such an awful experience. I am not here to fight you; rather, I came to help you. I was warned about a large disruption in Paris in the future and I came to help prevent it. I'm an overseas hero and I hope I can be your acquaintance."

"Where are you from?" Ladybug asked.

"How long were you a hero?" Chat Noir asked right after Ladybug.

"Well," Silver Panda smiled. "I'm from somewhere," Silver answered, "That should say enough of where I am from. I started as a hero some time ago, but I can't quite remember when. I do remember the day I started though. I also have a partner who I entrusted my country with."

"Is he good?" Chat Noir asked.

"Is 'he' even a guy?" Ladybug snorted.

"Well… He is," Silver Panda commented about her partner. "As for your question, Chat Noir… You can see him one day and be the judge of that."

Ladybug bit the bottom of her lips. She was getting caught up in Silver Panda's flow. Silver Panda was good at leading others around. Furthermore, Silver Panda was reminding Ladybug of Volpina who also had the talent to lead others around in a web of lies. Ladybug struggled to find her own pace, Silver Panda seemed to be leading the heroes around with a twisted form of the truth.

"I'm sorry if you doubt me, Ladybug."

Ladybug froze in terror.

"I don't want you to continue doubting me and I can see that staying here tonight won't make you any less suspicious of me," Silver Panda slowly stood up and then waved her farewell before hopping off the rooftop.

Ladybug frowned. She decided to let the Panda hero leave tonight because of the debt she felt like she owed to the self-proclaimed hero. Ladybug looked to her side to see Chat Noir who was sitting patiently for her orders.

"What was that?" Chat Noir asked Ladybug.

"I'm not sure," Ladybug replied, "But I do know that something is wrong with that hero."

"Ladybug," Chat Noir gazed quietly at his partner, "You're too cautious. She's different than Volpina and I can feel it. Silver Panda seemed like a sweet hero." Chat Noir's eyes also showed great debt. Ladybug understood. Chat Noir also felt as if he was indebted to the hero.

"You are too sweet and naïve, kitty," Ladybug smiled, "You believe in others too much." She teased him by touching his nose. "You are too trusting, maybe you should learn how to make enemies and be wary of others, kitty-cat."

"Oh," Chat Noir, ducked his head bashfully. "I already have a few people I don't exactly like Bugaboo." Chat rubbed the back of his neck. He perked up when Ladybug started to laugh.

"Of course you do, Kitty."

Chat smiled, the weariness and tension from before was gone.

"Shall we get going, Milady?"

Chat got up on his two feet and reached out a hand to Ladybug after bowing dramatically. Ladybug rolled her eyes but grabbed his hand and pulled herself up.

"As much as I love you Chat," Ladybug smiled, "I sort of don't want to see you again. You know that we only meet when there is trouble."

"I understand," Chat Noir smiled sadly.

"Well, we'll see each other soon because Hawkmoth isn't gone yet," Ladybug smiled. "See you later Chat."

"Until next time, Milady."

Ladybug returned to her home, going separate ways from her partner. She looked back once before continuing on forward.

When Ladybug reached her home, she transformed back to Marinette. Marinette huffed as she fell on her bed with a groan.

"What's wrong Marinette?" Tikki asked.

Marinette pulled out a macaroon for Tikki and gave it to her Kwami. Tikki took it happily, munching away to replenish her lost energy.

"I'm just worried; we don't know much about Silver Panda…"

"Maybe you could search her up?" Tikki suggested. "If she is a hero then she would be on the internet for sure right? Ladybug and Chat Noir are on the internet and have multiple blogs on them, the most famous being the Ladyblog."

"That's a great idea, Tikki!" Marinette smiled, "Thank you!"

Just then, her phone rang and Marinette noticed a number she didn't have a contact for.

"Who?"

"Hello?" A familiar gruff voice answered. "Is this Marinette?"

"Yes," Marinette answered nervously.

"It's Lee, I was wondering if I could take you up on the offer of a tour in Paris? Is tomorrow okay?"

"Sure!" Marinette agreed quickly. She wanted to try and kindle a friendship she knew was bound to not work out. "We are… still friends right, Lee?"

"Yeah, unless you don't think so," the voice drew out.

"I think so!" Marinette quickly responded. "We're friends, at least to me!"

"If it is that to you, then the same thought applies to me," Lee replied with a sigh. "I apologize for calling this late at night, something came up and I forgot to ask you after school today. I also didn't want to deal with Adrien after this morning."

"It's fine!" Marinette reassured Lee rapidly. He was surprisingly nice. His voice was rough, but when he apologized it was genuine. Although… The sentence after was slightly full of menace and it scared Marinette lightly.

"See you tomorrow?" Lee asked.

"Yup!" Marinette asserted.

"Okay," Lee agreed, "Night."

"Good night!" Marinette cheerily responded to Lee. "See you in the morning!"

Then the call was cut and Marinette felt the smile she messily plastered on her face drop. Glancing to the side, Marinette noticed a certain book.

She felt the color drain away from her face.

That's right, she had other plans tomorrow.

Now, how to break the bad news to Lee?

* * *

 **Two chapters because of guilt for not posting in a year or two(?). Don't know when I'll be back lol.**


	3. More Miraculous (Ch3)

Marinette was having the worst breakdown of her life. She had agreed to take Lee on a tour of Paris today, but she had also agreed beforehand with Tikki that she would stop by the Master to get the information she needed! Marinette buried her face in her hands and let out a soft groan.

She held the book tightly, but kept her movements hidden. The book was slightly hidden underneath her arm and inside her jacket. Tikki was disapproving of Marinette's plan to sneak off to Master, but Marinette firmly believed it was either sneaking away from Lee or facing his fury and wrath.

Just as Marinette steeled herself to sneak off, someone tapped her shoulder. Marinette jolted in shock at the state of being caught. She turned around and Lee was watching her with a quirked eyebrow. Marinette was hunched over, ready to run from the scene and it was obviously suspicious. Marinette let out a small squeak, mission failed! Abort! Abort!

"Are you giving me the tour, Marinette?" Lee looked at her expectantly.

"So…" Marinette fidgeted uncomfortably and slowly straightened her back. She knew that she couldn't run away now that Lee saw her. Marinette spoke slowly in fear, "I'm so sorry Lee. I don't think I can give you a tour today. I have to see someone and-"

"I can't come with you?" Lee asked coolly. He didn't seem really bothered, thankfully. "We can have the tour later, but do you mind if I tagged along with you?" Lee blew up at his bangs and made them waver a little bit in the air before falling back down.

Marinette looked down at her feet and mumbled a small "no" before she ran away from Lee. It was probably the most stupidest things she had done so far, but she had to bail on him! Paris was currently at stake according to Tikki! Tikki whispered instructions in Marinette's ear as Marinette ran towards the Master.

Marinette's eyes widened when she recognized the man in front of her. It was that man! The doctor who helped Tikki that one time?

The man smiled at Marinette, obviously expecting her appearance. So he wasn't just a doctor then… The next look on the Master's face made Marinette look back. His jaw dropped and his pupils shrunk in size.

Lee was standing behind Marinette.

Marinette felt her own jaw slack. Lee also had a look of shock, but he quickly regained his posture and respectfully bowed. Marinette quickly followed suit, she didn't want to offend the master. Marinette noticed how Lee and the master recognized each other immediately. Lee's eyes also radiated less heat and anger but were replaced with respect.

"Fu," Lee stood up straight. "It's been a long time since I last saw you."

"And I have seen you have grown up tougher than before," Master Fu trailed off, looking at Lee expectantly.

"It's Lee," Lee reminded Master Fu before he bowed again. Lee glanced at Marinette and nodded. "We can continue the tour later." Then Lee walked towards the door, his hair lashing out like a whip when he briskly turned his head.

"…" Marinette felt the awkwardness talking with the Master in front of her now. Especially since Master Fu seemed to know Lee personally. "So, I'm going to guess and say you are not a doctor then?" Marinette looked at the master in front of her.

"Indeed I am not," the old man chuckled.

"How do you know Lee?"

"Through travelling," Master Fu replied, "But I can see that you have come to me for a different matter."

"Right!" Marinette mumbled as she pulled the book out of her jacket.

That was how Marinette learned of Master Fu and his role as the guardians of the miraculous. She was in awe of the many miraculous that the master had with him. However, she stopped short when she saw the empty slots other than the stolen miraculous the Peacock and the Butterfly.

"Why is there more miraculous missing, Master?" Marinette asked as she eyed the empty slots.

"Another guardian is holding onto them for me," Fu replied breezily. "There are many more miraculous in the world, Marinette, the ones I have is just a small amount compared to the many there is. Most of the miraculous was lost due to a terrible accident, but the ones that survived were split amongst the guardians that survived and the guardians from other temples."

"Oh?"

"The one who requested these miraculous, is someone I trust very much," Fu smiled, "The Peacock miraculous and the Butterfly miraculous are not the only miraculous stolen, I can also assure you with that fact."

Marinette frowned, "Then why are there only heroes in Paris-?"

"There are more heroes outside of Paris," Master Fu hummed. "And groups of miraculous heroes are fighting to save the stolen miraculous."

"I see," Marinette sighed. She handed over the spell book to Master Fu who offered to decipher the code of the spells inside. He claimed how all guardians were able to read the text of the ancient spell book because they are well-versed in the ancient language.

Then there was that new dilemma.

The possibility of Adrien being Hawkmoth.

…

"Father, please!"

Adrien pleaded helplessly as he looked in his father's icy blue eyes. Gabriel Agreste spoke sternly about the book that Adrien had stolen and lost. The best punishment for Adrien was to be put in house arrest.

"You never tell me about yourself," Adrien muttered, small tears pricking the corners of his eyes. His father never told him anything, the book was the first thing he had learned about his father in years. He was always unsure and scared at the aspect of talking to his father, but now, he felt terrible.

He lost his father's love and motivation.

…

Marinette ran to school. She had to ask Adrien about how he got that book! According to Master Fu's theory, the owner could be Adrien. Adrien! The owner can't be Adrien! Then she would be in love with a super villain and she can already see the relationship go south!

"Eeek!"

Marinate screeched.

"Are you sure that he's going to be here, Marinette?" Tikki questioned from Marinette's purse.

"Of course!" Marinette proudly stated. "I know that boy's schedule by heart!"

"You sound like a stalker."

Marinette skid to a stop and turned. She prayed that the person didn't see Tikki who ducked into her purse. She spotted Lee who was watching her with visible disgust and disbelief. The disgust was minimal but it still hurt her to look at it. Lee shook his head and crossed his arms.

"Makes my job easier though," Lee sighed. He glanced to the school in front of the duo and looked back at Marinette. "Show me where Adrien is," Lee ordered, "I promise it won't get dirty."

Marinette frowned, recalling the last time the two of them were together. Lee seemed to understand the hesitance in Marinette's actions and scoffed.

"I am not going to pick a fight with him. I just have to talk to him," Lee revealed, "That's all. There won't be violence, I just had a few questions."

In the end Marinette was swayed, she couldn't stand outside idly either. She gestured Lee to follow her as they snuck to the gym. Inside there were people practicing their fencing skills. Marinette gestured to Lee who just rolled his eyes.

Lee snuck inside expertly and slid into the locker room. Marinette watched in awe and in fright. If he could sneak in anywhere like that would her privacy be safe? A little while later, Lee returned with a tight frown.

"He wasn't there."

"What?"

"You sure you know where he is?" Lee asked. He had his hands in his pockets now and he was staring intently at Marinette.

"That's odd," Marinette mused. "Adrien never misses his fencing classes…" Marinette looked up to Lee, the blue eyes and the gold eyes met. "Something must have happened," the determined blue eyes announced. Marinette had to find Adrien, she couldn't have him just disappear!

"I can guess that much, Sherlock," Lee snorted. He rolled his eyes before staring at Marinette intently. "So what now?"

"We look for him, obviously," Marinette pointed out. "I'll look upstairs the school, can you search for him on the first floor?"

"Sure," Lee muttered as he walked.

"Why do you want to find him anyways?" Marinette gathered her courage to ask Lee the question before he disappeared. Lee looked back at Marinette and smirked. Then he turned back around and continued his search. Marinette frowned, but she walked upstairs. Time to look for Adrien…

Marinette was searching in the room next to her homeroom when she heard a distressed whine coming from none other than... Chloe Bourgeois. Marinette rushed to her homeroom and found a distressed Chloe whining to Sabrina about something. Sabrina soothed the crying girl to the best of her abilities which caused Marinette's eye to twitch.

Marinette sighed and looked at a group of her classmates.

"What wrong with her?" Marinette asked.

"Adrien's not coming back to school!" Chloe cried as she covered her face with her hands. Marinette believed the tears were overly exaggerated but the horror from Chloe's words seeped into her mind.

"What? What does Chloe mean?"

"His dad grounded him," Kim explained with a frown.

"For life," Max added with a shake of his head.

"What? Why?" Marinette demanded an answer.

"Something about losing a book of his dad's," Nino answered this time. He shook his head helplessly, "It's so wrong dude."

A book… The book belonged to his father?!

"Phew," Marinette let out an unconscious sigh of relief. Then Adrien wasn't Hawkmoth! It was his dad! That's a big relief, it would've been terrible if Adrien was Hawkmoth!

"Phew?!"

Chloe looked at Marinette dumbfounded.

Marinette jumped up in panic as everyone turned to stare at her incredulously.

"Uh, I meant-!" Marinette quickly backpedaled and her mind was put on a frantic break. What would she say, what should she say?!

"She meant 'phew' as in 'phew at least Adrien is safe'," a cold voice came from the doorway. Lee was leaning on the door frame and glared at the class. Everyone inside seemed to be nervous around him and many looked away from him. "Marinette and I talked about how worried we were about Adrien."

Chloe growled at Lee, but made no actual attempt to go near him. Lee stood up straight up and motioned Marinette to come to him with a tilt of his head.

"Come on, we can go check if he is actually alright or not," Lee said. He turned his back on the class and the Chloe exclaimed loudly.

"You're friends with Adrien?" Chloe let out a sound of disgust and she tilted her head away from Lee, but her beady little blue eyes never left Lee's back. "I can't imagine a monster like you getting along with someone as sweet and kind as Adrien!"

"Is that so?" Lee muttered. Marinette watched as Lee never turned back around to face the class. "Am I a monster to you Ms. Bourgeois? What if it was because I am a monster that he became friends with me?" Lee spoke up loudly, and Marinette realized that she was the only one to hear Lee's first question. "You don't like the thought of your little Prince Charming coming up to me and asking to be friends only because I am a monster, do you? It's not mutual. I think it's more akin to fear. You know, there are many ways that a person can be hurt without the perpetrator being caught."

"Lee?"

Marinette asked, reaching out a hand to him. She felt oddly betrayed... Or just terrified… Everyone behind her was in the same frozen state of shock and terror.

Lee then turned around and grabbed Marinette's backpack. He dragged her out of the room and outside the school building. Marinette looked at Lee for any emotion but his eyes were shadowed by his bangs and his other facials features were heard to read. The tension between them were thick; his outburst was terrifying and it scared Marinette just thinking about it. Lee had his hands in his pockets and he seemed displeased. Marinette shook her head. She had to play it cool, they were looking for Adrien.

"Thanks," Marinette smiled. It was a little forced and it hurt to smile when she was downright terrified after gaining a glimpse of the monster Lee could be... or is...

"For what?" Lee turned around to look at Marinette. He seemed a little bewildered, his eyes were up just a few centimeters and his eyebrows rose ever so slightly.

"For saving me back there," Marinette continued to explain why she was grateful. She tried her hardest not to show how terrified she was of Lee after his outburst. "I wouldn't have been able to pull off a good lie and everyone would've looked at me funny when I let out that sigh. It would've been really awkward for me if you didn't step in, so… Thanks for saving me," Marinette ended intelligently.

"Oh."

That's all Lee said, but Marinette noticed the small pink blush on his face as he turned away. He was happy.

"I didn't scare you?"

"What?"

Marinette was taken aback by the question. It was the one thing she didn't want to answer.

"I..." Marinette froze, she wasn't sure what she should've said, but all she could think of was the truth. "You did, but I think that it was because Chloe got annoying."

Lee glanced back at Marinette, a spark of light in his eyes, as his ear tips burned red. Maybe Lee wasn't as bad of a person as she had originally thought he was after all…

Wait… Marinette froze. She locked eyes with Tikki who was hiding in her purse as per normal. Tikki's blue eyes were frightful. Adrien stole the book from his father. His father is the original holder of the book. According to Master Fu's theory…

"He's Hawkmoth!" Marinette shouted with blown eyes.

"Who?"

Marinette stumbled away from Lee and quickly spoke an excuse to get away. Lee just ignored her and grabbed Marinette by her wrist. It was a tight hold and it started to hurt.

Lee looked at Marinette who was squirming. He looked at her movements then at the wrist he held. He loosened his hold with a tight frown. Once again Marinette muttered a string of apologizes before running away. Lee watched Marinette's back before he continued his way to the Agreste mansion by asking nice Parisians along the way.

…

Marinette ran away. She found an alley way with no one nearby. She quickly transformed into Ladybug before escaping to a rooftop. She pulled out her communicator form her purse and tried to call Chat Noir.

"Has the Chat got your tongue? Leave a message!"

Ladybug furrowed her eyebrows and spoke into her communicator.

"Chat Noir, I think I know who Hawkmoth is. Get your whiskers over here fast," Ladybug spoke in an annoyed tone. She rolled her eyes, but had a twitch of a smile. They were going to find Hawkmoth.

…

Plagg was as annoying as normal. He spoke about how Kwamis couldn't be filmed or photographed anywhere. He spoke about how glorious he was and everyone else was dull in comparison to him.

"I want to go back to school," Adrien sighed.

"Are you crazy?" Plagg asked as he looked at Adrien with an incredulous look. "No more homework, no more alarm clocks! We should be celebrating."

Adrien gave Plagg a look and Plagg quickly tried to cheer the boy up.

"Hey, I know~" Plagg disappeared then reappeared with cheese in a jar. The stench was disgustingly visible. "It's been maturing for 999 days~"

Adrien cringed at the smell and the sight of the cheese. Then there was a loud crash followed by the shatter of glass. Adrien ran downstairs to the source of the noise, dodging his bodyguard. Natalie blocked the door and claimed that his father was busy. She then had the bodyguard usher Adrien away from the door and back to his room so he could continue his piano lessons.

…

"Come to me my little akuma," Gabriel greeted the butterfly with wide arms, "and evilize me!"

"I am now the Collector. My book of inspiration has been taken from me so I shall build a new one and perhaps pick up a miraculous or two because of it," Gabriel smiled as he announced to no one in particular. It was a vow. To his wife.

…

Adrien escaped his house. He transformed into Chat Noir and ran out. He had to find the book or he would never be able to go back to school again! The friends he recently made! Before he could get far, Chat noticed his communicator ring.

"Wow," Chat Noir hummed, "I guess the book will have to wait a little bit longer!"

Then he went to find Ladybug.

…

Ladybug groaned. She was walking back and forth on a rooftop after she sent coordinates to Chat Noir. Speaking of the Chat he was late! This was urgent!

"Chat Noir, what did you do?!" Ladybug grumbled. Just then she heard a small thump behind her. Someone landed on the roof. Ladybug turned around to look at the person with an annoyed look.

"Chat Noir! Did you get my messages?"

"Yeah," Chat Noir grinned, "and I can't wait to know more my ladytective~" Chat Noir smiled at Ladybug before he asked, "Who is our suspect?"

"Gabriel Agreste," Ladybug replied firmly, "you know, the fashion designer."

Chat blinked in shock and he recoiled away. He then looked over at Ladybug pleadingly, "You got proof?"

Ladybug was dead serious, and she knew that the Chat knew. So something was holding him up, but… Ladybug stuttered, she couldn't tell him about the book! Could she?

"Ummm," Ladybug stammered. "I can't tell you," an awkward reply.

"So," Chat Noir frowned and threw his hands out wide, "I'm supposed to just… accept that?"

"You must trust me on this," Ladybug sought out her partner's trust, "but it all makes sense." She pulled up the proof of his company's logo, a butterfly, and how secretive and shut in the man was. Along with how he doesn't even get along with his son, always off on his own.

Chat Noir frowned and turned around, facing the Agreste Mansion and away from Ladybug.

"It's time to get to the bottom of this," Chat Noir replied solemnly.

The battle was tough, but Chat Noir and Ladybug freed Gabriel Agreste from the butterfly soon enough. The duo was in a pinch but they came to the conclusion that Gabriel Agreste wasn't Hawkmoth. He was akumatized after all, they theorized, a victim cannot be the mastermind. Marinette returned the book to Mr. Agreste after Master Fu took pictures of the pages so he could decipher them on his own. When Adrien came back to school, everyone swarmed around him and greeted him with warm smiles and hugs. Marinette and Alya watched from the back at the warm exchange.

Then Marinette noticed something strange.

"Lee's not here."

…

"So then," Natalie inquired, "if you already had a copy of the book, why did you go through that trouble?"

"I did what I had to do to keep my secret," Gabriel informed Natalie. He opened the door to his secret location created for Hawkmoth. Gabriel transformed back into Hawkmoth after greeting his Kwami and smiled at the window panes in front of him. "Ladybug, Chat Noir," he smirked, "You almost managed to find out about who I am, but now I am more without suspicion than I have ever been! All I have to do now is to wait for my next prey…"

"That's a fancy saying," a voice was emitted from the shadows. Hawkmoth turned around to the source of the voice. At the darkest corner of his room a figure emerged from the shadows.

"Sir Hawkmoth."


	4. Chloe's Party (Ch4)

**Hi! I plan to upload this particular fanfic on a weekly basis. It's a little inconsistent but it'll be uploaded every weekend, normally Saturday-ish. Also, sorta selfish of me, but if anyone has their own ideas on what Lee looks like feel free to PM me or mention it in the reviews! :D**

 **CURSE WORDS INCLUDED. BE CAREFUL.**

* * *

"Who are you?" Hawkmoth growled lowly, he was slightly quivering as he seethed in silent rage.

"Someone who is willing to work with you," the figure replied. The figure was revealed to be an unfamiliar boy with golden eyes. "I snuck in while the Collector was out and I found this cute shithole. Want to talk it out, Sir Hawkmoth?"

"What do you want?" Hawkmoth hissed. He didn't want to alert anyone and if this boy knew who he truly was then the boy couldn't be allowed to freely roam around. The casual expression the boy had with his sharp golden eyes that scanned Hawkmoth head to toe was unnerving. He has his hands in his pants pockets and was not frightened despite having a villain in front of him.

"I have a job to finish, you want the miraculous," the boy gave Hawkmoth a listless smile, "We can work together. What do you say, Sir Hawkmoth?"

"Did you see my civilian state?" Hawkmoth inquired.

"Sadly no, I was too busy being bored and entertaining myself with the butterflies you grow," the boy replied with a frown. "If I had, I wouldn't be calling you Sir Hawkmoth now would I? You're true identity would've given me the upper hand. If I knew your true identity, it makes it harder for us to work together."

Hawkmoth found himself frowning, what the boy said was true. What the boy offered was tempting.

"What could you do for me?"

"I could do multiples of things such as creating victims for your little akumas," the boy suggested. "I can create an example today to solidify the agreement, if you wish to temporarily be partners."

"…"

Hawkmoth found himself frowning. This boy was obviously no idiot, he found Hawkmoth's secret lair and did it without detection. Hawkmoth's defense system wasn't activated either, one that should've blown the boy up into smithereens. He was fearless in the way he casually walked into dangerous territory when the heroes and the Collector were fighting. He was being laid back in front of the infamous Hawkmoth in his own territory with no signs of terror. He was attempting to make a deal with the Hawkmoth. Hawkmoth felt a chill run down his spine. The boy was no joke, he was like a professional of something of some sort.

"Sire?" The boy questioned with a smirk tugging the corner of his lips.

"Why don't you try trusting someone for a change, Sir Hawkmoth?"

"I'll create that temporary alliance," Hawkmoth said after a little while. "Let's see how far this goes…"

The boy's face became twisted. His eyes crinkled into amusement, but his golden eyes held no joy. His grin was thin and stretched out to look wide and his white teeth glistened. The beautiful, menacing boy appeared to be one of Hawkmoth's akumatized victims without the akuma in him. He looked like a predator who just caught his prey.

And Hawkmoth realized he was the said prey.

Hawkmoth couldn't help but frown; he hoped that he didn't make the wrong mistake. But he couldn't help but feel a shot of adrenaline when the boy replied to Hawkmoth's decision.

"Great."

…

"I always add cream to the chocolate to make…"

Marinette listened to her father's lesson as he joyously spoke about baking and creating the dough needed for today's sweet.

"I love it when your dad comes to class and gives us pastry lessons," Alya whispered in Marinette's ear. Alya was currently filming the pastry class as she always does during Marinette's father's class.

"So does he," Marinette giggled. She motioned to her father who was smiling widely as he explained the steps taken to creating the dough and his own little secrets in making the dough as delicious as possible.

At the corner, Chloe huffed. "Do they seriously think I'm going to get my hands dirty, cooking like some maid?" Chloe spoke loudly to Sabrina. "If I want a croissant, I just make my butler get it for me!"

"He's not making croissants, dimwit," Lee scoffed. He was leaning on the windowsill. Similarly to Chloe, he watched from afar and from the back, away from their classmates. He was watching the lesson with an angled view unobstructed by his crowding classmates.

"He's making macaroons!" Rose added. Rose was standing on the other side of Chloe. Chloe hissed at Rose and complained about how her clothes and hair would get dirtied by the baking that was being taught. As everyone awed over the dough, Chloe huffed and hustled to the window near Lee.

Lee stared at Chloe with his dead expression and Chloe looked away from him. She pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

Marinette watched Chloe speak with someone quickly on the phone before she hung up with a smug expression on her face. Marinette was upset that she couldn't make out Chloe's words because of her dad's lesson and the cars beeping outside. She did notice how Lee seemed more fed up than normal, his dulled golden eyes watching Chloe intensely.

Chloe also seemed to have noticed because she angrily spoke with Lee before she turned around to rejoin Sabrina and the group.

"Marinette."

Marinette snapped out of her thoughts and turned to her dad who called her.

"Yes, dad?"

"Could you put this in the school cafeteria for me please?" Her dad smiled at her warmly as he handed her the batter. "I'm going to show your friends how to whip up egg whites," Marinette's father elaborated on his reason to stay and Marinette smiled at him.

"Of course," Marinette began to walk to the door, but before she could take another step, someone spoke up.

"I'll come with."

Lee got up slowly, pushing himself up with his propped leg. He walked over to Marinette and passed her, opening the door. Marinette's classmates looked uncomfortable at Lee's movements and his offer to follow Marinette.

"I can go if you want, girl," Alya offered. Marinette glanced at Alya and then shook her head with a smile.

"It's okay," Marinette said, "I'm trying to be his friends, remember?"

She walked out the door, both hands holding the fresh batter in her hand. Lee let the door close as he walked with her to the kitchen.

"Why did you follow me?" Marinette immediately asked when the door closed, "Don't like my dad's cooking lessons?"

"No," Lee answered smoothly, "I thought I should be with you when the time comes."

"Huh?"

Marinette reached the first floor and then a loud siren was heard beeping overhead in the building. Lee closed his eyes and opened them again, the same bored face resting on his face. Lee motioned Marinette to the side of the steps. Soon their class started to make their way down the stairs. Chloe grinned at Marinette evilly as she passed by. Marinette's father looked at Marinette with worry.

"I hope it's only a fire drill," he said.

Marinette pursed her lips and glared at Chloe's back.

"Lay off it," Lee advised. He had his hands in his pockets as he glanced at Chloe. "Not now." Lee then glanced at Marinette's father. "You should take the batter and go back to your bakery sir, I don't know if you want to stay."

Marinette's father nodded and took Marinette's batter. With a grin, he kissed his daughter before walking back to his home. Marinette wove goodbye to her father before gabbing Lee's arm. Lee looked at Marinette, his eyes slightly wider than normal. Marinette then proceeded to drag Lee to the front where her classmates were.

The principal, Mr. Damocles, started to give out a lecture as the firefighter captain next to him tried to leave. Marinette glanced at her hand and noticed that Lee was missing. She looked around and then frowned.

"Where did he-?"

"Mr. Damocles, sir," Chloe grinned, earning everyone's attention. Chloe had her hand raised and she lowered it once she got the attention she wanted.

"Yes, Ms. Bourgeois?"

"I saw a student leave the classroom right before the alarm went off," Chloe smiled. Marinette felt the color drain from her face. "It must've been her," Chloe continued, "Since, you know, no one else could?"

"Really?" Mr. Damocles looked as if he believed Chloe. "Who was it?"

"Let's see if she'll come clean," Chloe turned to face Marinette. "What do you say, Marinette Dupain Cheng?"

Marinette stared in shock at Chloe. She then started to feel the rage boiling inside her, she knew it! Chloe was going to pin the incident on her!

"Marinette," Mr. Damocles said, "Do you have something to tell the firefighter captain?"

"I-I," Marinette stuttered dumbfounded. She didn't do it!

"Teach, chill," a low voice commanded the principal calmly. At the edge of the stage was Lee. He hopped onto the platform with the two older men and spoke brazenly, but monotonous. "I was with her the whole time, it wasn't her."

"What about you, Lee Lee?" Chloe taunted, "How do we know that it wasn't you both and you're using each other as backup?"

"Can't say my name right with that walnut brain of yours?" Lee replied coolly, "Marinette had both her hands on the batter and I wasn't even near my phone. Plus, isn't Marinette a bright student?" Lee's eyes bored into Mr. Damocles' eyes. "Wouldn't you say so, teach?"

"Mmm," Mr. Damocles nodded, "That is true…"

"Sir," Adrien spoke up, "Why would she disrupt her own father's cooking class?" He backed Marinette up and supported her with a hand on her shoulder.

"And I know for a fact that Marinette didn't even have her phone on her when she went out of the classroom," Alya defended Marinette as well.

Marinette felt herself smiling; she was backed by such wonderful friends! But at the same time… Marinette's eyes drifted over to Lee who was standing at the back of the stage. No one defended Lee. Before Marinette could speak, Chloe's voice rang out.

"Oh well," Chloe smiled, "We all know it wasn't me."

Marinette growled lowly and was about to speak up until Adrien stopped Marinette. He lowered his head and placed a hand on her ear.

"Hang on, Marinette," Adrien whispered, "We're not even sure it's her."

"He's right Marinette," Alya whispered in Marinette's other ear. "Let's not stoop to her level."

Chloe laughed loudly and Lee coughed into his hand, gaining everyone's attention.

"Teach, the captain has to go," Lee stared at Mr. Damocles, "Are you trying to prevent him from saving someone from a fire? There could be an emergency and he's been asking to leave since the start of this stupid lecture, let him go."

Mr. Damocles coughed into his hand and excused the firefighter who looked thankful to be allowed to leave the school building.

"Well then what should I do?" Mr. Damocles questioned himself.

"Since no one is fessing up, why don't you just punish the whole school? That way we can all hate, excuse my language, that little bitch who decided to yap like the dog they are?" Lee suggested, "We all know who it was and we can all hate them simultaneously." Lee ignored the stares he got from everyone present, "You know, they'll be alone with no friends."

The principal frowned at the use of Lee's language and shooed him off the stage. "Language, young man. However," Mr. Damocles paused, furrowing his brows, "I must admit, that is a wonderful idea. You will all be punished for today's incident! This school needs to be squeaky clean by the end of the day! Classes are dismissed and everyone needs to clean!"

"What?!" Chloe exclaimed loudly, "I'm not so sure my father will react kindly to me being punished without any proof!"

"Oh no please," Mr. Damocles pleaded, "Don't disturb the busy mayor." He coughed into his hand and stood up straight as he rephrased his sentence. "The whole school is punished except for Ms. Bourgeois."

Everyone was then excused and ordered to clean the school instead of taking class.

"Did you see what just went down?" Alya asked Marinette.

Marinette had her hands cupped to the side of the ear Adrien spoke to her. "Adrien just touched my ear!"

Alya felt her hand connect with her forehead and she shook her head lightly, "Seriously Marinette?"

Chloe was sitting on a bench on the first floor of the school playing on her phone. Whenever someone came close to her so they could clean, she shooed them away so she could rest in peace. At one point, Rose walked away with tears and Adrien walked up to Chloe. Chloe pounced on Adrien and grinned.

"Adrikins!"

Marinette watched from the other side of the building and felt her face turn red from rage. She was about to talk over to them until Lee grabbed her shoulder and shook his head. Marinette sighed and went back to cleaning, deciding that she would be pleased with how friendly Lee was being to her albeit his expression and words. Meanwhile, Lee walked closer to the duo who wasn't cleaning so he could listen to their conversation.

"Of course it was me who called the fire department," Chloe confessed, "So what?"

"And it doesn't bother you that everyone is being punished because of you?" Adrien questioned.

"No," Chloe replied, "Why would it? They all seem to enjoy getting dirty making cookies. How is it different getting dirty cleaning floors? They should be thanking me if anything."

Adrien held his head with his left arm and shook his head sadly.

"Chloe," he sounded exasperated but Chloe was still happy to hear him. "How long have you and I been friends?"

"Since we were adorable little tots, Adrikins!" Chloe made a kissy face and fluttered her eyebrows.

"Well…" Adrien looked away from Chloe, "I'm sorry Chloe. I can't be friends with someone who treats other people like this. You've got to be nice to people."

"Nice?" Chloe blinked in shock.

"Yes, nice," Adrien sighed. "It's not that hard." Then he walked away from Chloe to clean.

Chloe watched in shock and despair before she sat down on the bench. She stared numbly off to the distance, not noticing the dirty looks she received from the people cleaning around her.

Lee then walked to Chloe and tapped her on the shoulder. He took a seat next to her. Chloe didn't spare the boy a glance and stared at the front, dumbfounded by what Adrien proclaimed. They were no longer friends! They were quiet for a while before Lee shattered the silence.

"Maybe, you could host a party," Lee suggested, and then he got up and left, content with knowing the idea was planted in Chloe's head.

…

Chloe's butler remarked on how down Chloe was. He pulled out chocolate truffles which were shoved in Chloe's mouth. Chloe then cried and complained about how she had to be nice to everyone or she and Adrien would no longer be friends. The butler seemed to be annoyed at how Chloe messed his name up continuously, but chose not to comment.

"Perhaps," the butler smiled, "Mademoiselle can seek comfort with Mr. Cuddly?"

Chloe wiped her tears away as she hugged the cute, yellow teddy bear. She squeaked it and listened to the comforting sounds of the soft plushie. As Chloe comforted herself through Mr. Cuddly, the butler claimed that he would help Chloe keep her friendship with Adrien. Chloe was reluctant about the genuinely of the butler helping her. When she asked why the butler was offering to help her he replied with a smile.

"Because that's what being nice is all about Mademoiselle."

Chloe stared at the butler then buried her face back into Mr. Cuddly. The butler then claimed that Mr. Cuddly would help Chloe become nicer through all the experiences the bear had being nice to Chloe. Chloe couldn't help but smile at the memories of the kind bear.

"I'll show Adrien just how nice I can be!"

The butler smiled kindly as Chloe gave him a wicked smile.

"And I already know how to do it!"

…

Marinette was in her room with her friends, Alya, Rose, Juleka, and Mylène. They were dressing up and giggling over the clothes that Marinette designed and created. Alya was taking photos as each girl modeled and posed, claiming that they were for Marinette's future fashion blog.

Suddenly, one by one, everyone's phones started to vibrate or ring with a message.

"Chloe?" Alya exclaimed.

"What does that bratty snob want?" Marinette asked as she glanced over Alya's shoulder.

"Chloe's inviting me to a party," Alya stated with a confused look.

Then everyone else started to pinch in about how they received a personal invitation to a party in Chloe's house. Rose commented on how nice Chloe was.

"Chloe and nice in the same sentence? Can't be her," Marinette frowned.

"Maybe somebody hacked her phone then," Mylène suggested with a shrug. She looked just as confused as everyone else except for Rose who was claiming that Chloe turned a new leaf. After a little while, Marinette dug out her phone from her back pocket.

"I haven't received a text," Marinette stated.

"Then that means it must be Chloe," Alya grinned as she slyly pointed at Marinette. The girls had a good laugh about it for a few seconds before Marinette's phone rang with an invitation.

"Ewww, she invited me," Marinette groaned as she held her phone by her finger tips, holding it as far away from her as she could get it to be.

Rose continued to exclaim about how good the party could be and gushed to Juleka about it. Mylène then suggested that Chloe could probably want to say sorry for the morning. Marinette honestly found it absurd her friends were going to the party, but when Alya mentioned that Adrien was going, she jumped on board claiming that Chloe deserved a second chance much to the amusement of Alya.

…

"A party being thrown by the most spiteful girl in all of Paris?" Hawkmoth grinned, "Such a fertile breeding ground for negative emotions." He grabbed a butterfly and sent it along its way. A victim will appear, and they will be instantly akumatized.

…

Chloe was advised to hug and kiss her guests by her butler and Mr. Cuddly. Chloe rolled her eyes but nodded slowly at the words said. From the corner of her eyes as she spoke with her butler she saw that transfer kid walk in. She then noticed Adrien walk in with that ugly Marinette, her friend Alya, and Nino.

"This party is really weird," Marinette sighed.

"Well I've known Chloe for a long time," Adrien smiled as he defended his friend, "She can be cool sometimes."

Chloe then appeared from the crowd as she jumped onto Adrien and kissed him on both cheeks. Much to Marinette's annoyance, Chloe started to ask about how great she was and how amazing her actions were. Before Adrien could tell Chloe if she did a good job or not, Rose and Kim gave Chloe greetings kisses and Max came up to the same while thanking her for the party. When Chloe tried to walk away she was face to face with Marinette.

Chloe glanced to one side and saw Mr. Cuddly nodding at her, at the other side, Adrien was watching. Chloe puckered her lips and closed her eyes as she leaned in for the kiss.

Marinette looked to the side and noticed Adrien watching. She closed her eyes and leaned into kissing Chloe a greeting. Everyone watched the rapid exchange of greetings. After, both girls turned away and spat out all the nasty germs the other girl had.

Alya teased Marinette about the exchange which Marinette replied unhappily to. Nino became the host DJ and no one was getting upset. The akuma that snuck in was confused on where the negativity was in the building. Every time there was a negative emotion, it was gone the next as Chloe fixed her mistakes, Mr. Cuddly helping her the entire time.

The akuma fluttered around nervously until it was caught in a glass container. In Hawkmoth's lair, he was shocked at how the akuma was caught. He watched with wide eyes as the boy, who Hawkmoth struck a deal with, spoke to the akuma.

"Are you watching this Sire?" The boy then smiled as he allowed the butterfly to rest on his hand. "You can't use me can you? No negative emotions here." Then he placed the butterfly on his head. "Stay up there a little while and then follow the butler." The boy then threw the container away causing it to shatter and scaring a few people. Still he paid no mind as he slipped in the crowd.

"Hey, sir?" The boy with golden eyes stalked up towards Chloe's butler. The boy motioned to Mr. Cuddly. He said, "I think you're doing a good job with the bear, please keep it up. Chloe might actually learn and change from this."

The butler glowed with happiness as he nodded with a wide smile. The boy then walked away and spoke to the butterfly on his head.

"Don't worry about it," he muttered, "I'm not here to ruin your plans, Sir Hawkmoth."

Hawkmoth couldn't help but feel weary; was the butterfly not affecting him? It was as if he had… Hawkmoth frowned.

No emotions.

Someone needed to constantly look out for this boy.

...

Marinette frowned and complained to Alya about how fake Chloe was tonight. Alya just laughed and compared Marinette to Chloe in which Marinette protested. When the new music started, Marinette was pushed into Adrien who offered a dance with her. Marinette was simply dragged to the dance floor and started to dance with the love of her life with a goofy grin on her face.

Meanwhile, Lee walked over to Kim and Chloe. He asked Kim if Kim would allow Chloe to dance with him for a while instead of Kim.

"But the song's not over," Kim tried to protest, but he got nervous as Lee's eyes bored into him. He gave up and reluctantly let go of Chloe much to Chloe's disdain. She would rather dance with the idiot than the transfer.

"Hey Chloe," Lee struck up a conversation, the butterfly still clinging onto his hair.

"Buzz off," Chloe scowled, "why do you want to dance with me?"

"The bear is sort of cute," Lee shrugged as he pulled Chloe in closer. He whispered into her ear, "You know, if I was caught with a butler like that I would fire the man on spot." Then Lee pulled away as he forcefully spun Chloe.

"You saw him?" Chloe spoke aghast.

"Mr. Cuddly was it?" Lee droned, "I know how to keep a secret, don't worry about it."

Chloe frowned and released an unsatisfied noise. Lee's eyes traveled to the side and he spoke calmly.

"Marinette and Adrien look like they're having fun, huh?"

"What?!"

Chloe screeched as Lee continued to dance. He led her to an angle where she could see the duo more clearly. Lee avoided showing Chloe the ball pits where Mr. Cuddly was shaking his head.

...

"See," Adrien smiled at Marinette. He eyed a couple dancing in the building and then looked back at Marinette, "She's being nice to Lee too."

Marinette forgot for a second that Adrien didn't like Lee. She glanced up at Adrien's green eyes which held a tone of worry. Then Alya came in with a twirl. She moved Marinette's hands up to Adrien's neck and Adrien's hands down to Marinette's hips. Alya proceeded to spin away to Nino before the couple escaped the shell-shocked Marinette and Adrien. Luckily for Marinette, the two continued to dance this way, close together. Marinette was enjoying the embrace, Adrien was so warm.

Lee released Chloe and watched her storm over to his other classmates with bored eyes. He motioned the akuma on his head to go to the destination he offered and watched a scenario play out in front of his eyes.

Before Chloe could reach Marinette and Adrien, the butler appeared.

"Move out of the way, John Jacque!" Chloe shouted angrily.

The butler simply pulled out Mr. Cuddly and began speaking in a high pitched voice which started to gain the attention of everyone. The music stopped and Chloe watched in embarrassment and horror as the bear continued to speak. She futilely tried to hide her favorite teddy bear but Kim called her out on it and started to laugh. The whole room started to laugh.

From the back of the butler, Chloe spotted Lee who wasn't laughing or smiling. His dull, gold eyes bore into her skin. Slowly Lee pointed at the butler and slid his thumb across his neck.

Chloe understood.

Chloe dragged her butler away into the kitchen and started to yell.

"I had it with your stupid teddy bear, your stupid advice, and you! Jean whatever your stupid name is!" Chloe screamed, she didn't let the butler speak as she continued to talk about how she hated the butler at the moment. And at the moment, she really did hate him. "You. Are. Fired! Now get out!" Then Chloe left the kitchen huffing angrily.

...

Hawkmoth watched with interest and slight disturbance as his akuma touched the teddy bear. He spoke with the dejected butler and named him "Despair Bear". When he cut his communication off with the akumatized victim, he thought about the boy that helped him. The boy's name wasn't said, as if nobody wanted to say it. The boy was truly helping Hawkmoth.

Hawkmoth needed to make a decision.

...

Despair Bear then started to control anyone he could lay his paws on. He latched onto Sabrina and then Kim and continuously tried to attack Chloe. Ladybug and Chat Noir appeared in the party and tried to stop the villain but found it difficult because of the bear's small statue.

Despair Bear tried to move on from Alya to Ladybug when Alya grabbed Ladybug. A wooden piece hit the bear and caused it to stumble off of Alya and away from Ladybug. Silver Panda entered the building much to everyone's shock. Ladybug growled at the newcomer.

"Hey there," Silver Panda wove her hand slightly as the wooden piece returned to her hand. "Need help?"

Just then Ladybug felt someone grab her hand. It was Chat Noir. Ladybug was confused for a moment, something was wrong, Chat Noir was grabbing her hand tightly. She couldn't tell if he wanted to whisper something or he was controlled, his eyes were always green!

"Ladybug!" Silver Panda jumped it and kicked Chat Noir's arm. He howled in pain and released Ladybug. Chloe helped Sabrina dodge the angered Chat Noir and exclaimed at how kind she was much to everyone's shock and annoyance.

"Upstairs," Silver Panda spoke as she grabbed Ladybug and started to run up the stairs.

"What are you doing here?" Ladybug asked incredulously.

"Helping," Silver Panda replied, "I am a hero as well."

"I still don't trust you," Ladybug stated.

"Then let's just put aside our differences for now then?"

"Fine," Ladybug sighed as Silver Panda kicked the door open. "A temporary alliance," Ladybug claimed as the two heroes hid behind the door. Ladybug used her Lucky Charm and received a fork. She looked around the roof and glanced at Silver Panda who nodded. When Chat Noir arrived, both heroes worriedly noticed that Chloe sneaked up the stairs as well.

Ladybug threw her yoyo at Chat Noir. Chat Noir deflected the yoyo. Ladybug flailed in the air for a moment, but she landed smoothly and automatically started to ward off Chat Noir. While the two heroes of Paris exchanged blows, Silver Panda took the fork and put it through some of Despair Bear's thread and took the fork wrapped in thread. She then rushed over to Chloe and picked her up.

Chloe squealed as she was manhandled by a hero she didn't even know about. She was befuddled as the hero dropped her at a table with a removable umbrella and tied the fork with thread around one of the metal holders at the top of the umbrella.

Silver Panda winked at Chloe. "If you would please," then Silver Panda picked up a chair near the table. She chucked it at Chat Noir's Cataclysm as he tried to turn Ladybug into dust. The chair rusted to ash as Silver Panda quickly kneed Chat Noir's stomach.

"O-Okay!" Chloe shouted. The silver eyes were mesmerizing and gorgeous. Chloe shook her head as she started to twirl the umbrella around causing the threads of the teddy bear to get tangled up. Soon the only thing remaining of Despair Bear was the head.

Ladybug spoke with Chat Noir as Silver Panda picked up a tiny man by his collar. Silver Panda left the tiny man in Chat Noir's hand and then walked over to Chloe. She stopped in front of Chloe and spoke to the blonde for a little bit before she hopped down the roof of the building and disappeared.

As Ladybug and Chat Noir left, Chloe grinned to herself and thought about the words the silver hero said. She decided to rehire her butler with a soft smile before heading back downstairs with Mr. Cuddly. There was something she needed to atone for.

…

Chloe grinned mischievously at the way Adrien promised to stay friends with her. Chloe went back to being her mean self after the promise. She dissed all of the macaroons that her classmates made and laughed at Marinette.

Marinette hissed at Chloe, but Adrien walked over to her. From another part of the room, Lee was walking towards the duo, with one hand holding his own macaroons. Adrien asked for a macaroon and Marinette happily agreed, but her shaking hands caused her to toss the tray in the air. Fortunately Adrien caught one macaroon…and Lee caught the rest. In the small lapse of time, Lee had caught the airborne tray and all of Marinette's macaroons on one hand while balancing his own stack of macaroons on the tray in his other hand.

"Wow, this is really good!" Adrien exclaimed, ignoring Lee's save. "Your baking is as good as your dancing!" He then walked away, but not without throwing a glare at Lee. Lee ignored the animosity and struck a conversation with Marinette.

"May I?"

"May you what?" Marinette asked, flustered as she snapped out of her dream with Adrien.

"Have one," Lee said.

"Sure!" Marinette smiled. Lee grabbed a macaroon. He ate it as a whole and nodded.

"It's good…" He then pulled up his own tray of macaroons and offered it to Marinette. "Want one?"

"Of course!"

Marinette exclaimed as she took a look at his macaroons. Each one was made with care and decorated as such. The macaroon was a light green color with a lighter green cream in the middle. There was a pink blossom sugar ornament topped at the macaroon.

"So?" Lee prompted.

"They're delicious!" Marinette responded with a grin.

"It's getting late," Lee said, a coat of pink dusting his cheeks, "I'll see you tomorrow, Marinette." Then Marinette watched Lee walk away out of the building and probably to his home.


	5. A Miraculous Birthday (Ch5)

**A late update! Sorry, I'll try to be more consistent!**

* * *

"Did you decide on your answer?"

Hawkmoth sighed as he listened to the expected intruder walking up to him. He wasn't afraid, Hawkmoth reminded himself. He turned to the boy who watched him with his dulled metallic eyes. They were cold and oddly unnerving. It was as if he was helping Hawkmoth to satisfy his boredom, or to understand humans seeing as the boy in front of him no longer seemed to be a human in Hawkmoth's eyes.

"I agree," Hawkmoth reluctantly spoke. "Let's make this a permanent deal."

"Good," the boy's monotonous voice was annoying, "Although it only lasts until I leave."

"Understood," Hawkmoth nodded.

"I was a little worried you would turn it down though, Hawkmoth," the boy said as he leaned at the back of the room.

"Why would you say that?" Hawkmoth asked as he tensed up.

"Because Hawkmoth," the boy let out a low humming sound, "I thought you to be dumber."

"…" Hawkmoth pursed his lips. He didn't respond and decided to ask the boy about something he picked up. "What happened to being polite?"

"I only used it to gain your favor," the boy hummed. "I didn't think you would cooperate otherwise."

"I see," Hawkmoth drawled, a frown apparent on his face.

"Deal with it Hawkmoth," the boy spoke as he crossed his arms. "I can't help all the time, I'm just here to help business when I see a chance."

"Who are you again?" Hawkmoth asked. He knew fully well that the boy never said his name.

"You'll learn old man," the boy spoke as he walked away. "See you later."

…

"Marinette!" Tikki spun in a circle, "This is quite a special day for you!"

"Yes Tikki, it sure is," Marinette replied after she cleaned up her clothes. She glanced at her phone a little bit before listening to Tikki again.

"There's a ritual us Kwamis perform on a day like this," Tikki hummed. The two made their way up to the roof of the bakery and Marinette only spoke after they were outside and she was looking out the balcony.

"Oh really?" Marinette replied absentmindedly, "That's nice."

"But I don't know if you humans would like it," Tikki hummed. "I wonder if you guys even give each other presents on your birthday."

That caught Marinette's attention. Marinette turned to face Tikki with wide eyes. She was excited that her kwami got her a birthday gift. She sat down on her knees and placed her phone on a table next to her. Marinette held out her hands as Tikki danced and spun in the air. Then she threw up at Marinette's open hands.

"Miraculous birthday, Marinette!" Tikki giggled.

Marinette blinked, she wasn't sure what to say at the glop of seemingly glowing throw up on her hands. She tried to say she loved it and when she realized what it was, she felt less disgusted. It was pretty cute, but… Marinette glanced at her phone again. But…

"We take a hair from our miraculous holder and join it to the hairs of all the former miraculous holders and with them we grow a magic resin for a few months and-!" Tikki frowned when she noticed that Marinette wasn't paying attention. "You don't like it?"

"No! No! I love it!"

Marinette wove her hands. She denied how she didn't like the gift and talk about how Alya needed Marinette to walk her sisters to the dentist. Tikki was greatly confused.

"Do you humans always celebrate your birthdays by going to the dentist?" Tikki asked.

"No, of course not Tikki," Marinette laughed, "It's a secret code, they're actually throwing me a surprise birthday party!"

Tikki was confused. She asked Marinette how something could stay a secret if it was already known.

Marinette shook her head and explained how surprises meant pretending to be surprised for the others. Tikki expressed her worry for Marinette and how she could be wrong about the surprise and it was truly a trip to the dentist. Marinette confidently shook her head and claimed it was impossible. She started to list the reasons why she was so sure that there was a surprise birthday party.

"Juleka totally jumped when I caught her holding a bicycle pump," Marinette grinned. Marinette proceeded to explain how it was going to be used for balloons. Tikki explained how it could be used for an actual bicycle.

"Also, yesterday," Marinette brought up new evidence, "I caught Nino listening to my favorite song. Marinette smiled and Tikki once again tried to defuse her imagination and hunches by stating how Nino could also like her song. Marinette looked at Tikki as if she grew two heads. "He hates it," she stated.

Marinette huffed at the disbelieving look that Tikki was giving her. She needed concrete proof to make Tikki trust her, fine!

"Okay, if you don't believe me," Marinette tried a different piece of information, "Why was Alya having a secret convo with Adrien, huh?" Marinette hummed as she continued, "Adrien was shocked when he saw me standing by the door of the classroom and handed Alya a paper about a 'good dentist'. That's an obvious lie! Not only that, Alya actually bothered to go and talk to Lee. Lee."

Tikki frowned, "Is it bad that she's talking to Lee?"

"No!" Marinette shook her head, "Of course not, but I know she has no qualms or wishes of being Lee's friend…" Marinette looked away sheepishly. "You know, he has a bad rep in the school… Especially after that time he went up to talk on stage last time and suggested the whole school to be punished!"

Tikki continued to look as if she didn't believe Marinette at all and Marinette shook her head.

"Fine, you know what," Marinette grinned; she still had an ace up her sleeve! "There is one no fail way to find out if there is a surprise party in the making."

Marinette motioned Tikki to get into her purse before she barged into the kitchen where her parents were baking a large, pink cake. Her father was completely flustered when Marinette made her presence known. The cake was shoved into the trashcan as he proceeded to make things more suspicious by answering Marinette's questions oddly and nervously.

"See," Marinette pointed out, "Parents always know when there is a surprise party in the works!"

Then the doorbell rang and Marinette skipped out of the kitchen to the door. She smiled at Tikki was watching her from Marinette's purse as Marinette continued to gloat about her correct hunches.

"And now," Marinette squealed, "On the other side of this door, check out who's coming to get me! Just in time for the party. It's-" Marinette threw open the door and shocked to see the unexpected visitor. "Grandma?"

Marinette rushed to hug her grandmother. She had a wide smile on her face. It's been a long time since Marinette saw her adventurous grandmother. As the two made their way to the kitchen, Marinette asked her grandmother about her adventures in the world and asked questions about them. After exchanging a whisper with Marinette's father, her grandmother took out a gift extravagantly.

"Happy birthday, my fairy!" Her grandmother grinned. She gave the gift to Marinette. Marinette couldn't contain her excitement as her grandmother claimed that her friends helped her knit the present which was just for Marinette. Somewhere along the lines of her talking, Marinette's grandmother claimed it was Marinette's tenth birthday to which her son had replied how she was fourteen.

"My," Marinette's grandmother placed a hand on her cheek and rolled her eyes fondly, "How time flies."

Marinette unwrapped the gift excitedly only to find an extremely small shirt, one that would fit a teddy bear more so than Marinette. She felt her eye twitch as her grandmother continued to speak.

"That's okay," her grandmother said, "I'll ask my friends to make another one."

"No, no. It's awesome," Marinette shook her head and plastered a smile on her face. "I-I can make this work, its perfect grandma. Thank you."

Marinette's grandmother didn't look at all pleased until she seemed to remember something. She reached into her bag and sang for Marinette.

"Your Nonna has also brought you your favorite candy~"

"Oh," Marinette felt her smile falter.

"You still love them right?" Nonna asked with a big smile and twinkling eyes.

"Yes, yes," Marinette answered slowly. "Of… course…"

"And that's not all my fairy!" Nonna continued as she placed a helmet on Marinette's head. "We'll have a wonderful day, you and I! Just like last time!" Nonna grabbed Marinette's hand and started to drag her around. "We'll go to the merry-go-round and to the zoo!" Marinette tried to speak, but found herself being dragged around to the door. "And then-!"

"Uh, uh, uh…" Marinette's father stopped the two of them. "Mom? Can I have a word? Just the two of us?"

"What Tom?!" Nonna frowned, "That I don't know my Marinetta anymore because I'm always travelling?!"

"No!" Marinette's father exclaimed as he shook his head. He leaned down to whisper in his mother's ear. "Mom, it's just-"

"You think she doesn't want to spend time with her Nonna, is that it?" Nonna interrupted her son with an angered look. She placed her hand on her forehead and tilted her head backwards like a damsel in distress.

"No! Of course I'd want to spend time with you," Marinette quickly tried to defuse the situation. She took out her phone and checked the time, "Besides, it's not 4 o'clock yet!"

"There you see," Nonna grinned, "Come on, let's go Marinetta. We're going to have a ball!"

…

Marinette did truly enjoy the motorcycle rides she had with her grandmother, but they were truly about it. On the merry-go-round, she was the only teenager and people gave her weird looks for sitting with the children. Marinette ignored them in favor of putting a candy in her mouth as she grinned and waved at her nonna. Nonna was absolutely thrilled. When the Merry-go-round started and Marinette couldn't see her grandmother, she spat out the candy she was pretending to chew on and put it back in the candy box before checking her phone.

She went to the zoo next with her grandmother as she waited impatiently for the secret party her classmates were going to throw for her. Each time a candy was taken out of the box during their trip to the zoo, an animal was fed.

Finally they settled down for some ice cream and Marinette waited patiently for her grandmother to walk back with the ice cream.

"It's four o'clock," Marinette said dejectedly, "maybe you're right and there is no secret party…"

Tikki looked at Marinette before offering her some comfort. Then Tikki asked about something that bothered her the entire time Marinette was with her grandmother.

"How come you don't tell your grandma you don't like the candy?" Tikki asked.

"Tikki," Marinette sighed, "I don't want to hurt her feelings." Marinette glanced at her grandmother and looked back at Tikki, "We don't get to see each other often."

Then the phone rang in Marinette's hands. Marinette jumped from the small scare and tossed her phone in the air. A hand reached out to grab Marinette's phone before it fell and was handed to her. Marinette took her phone and looked up to thank the person who saved it.

"Lee!"

Lee simply motioned with his hand for Marinette to pick up the call which Marinette bashfully did. It was Alya!

"Sorry," Alya said, "I'm running late. Can you meet me at the park?" Just then a popping noise was heard in the phone and Marinette giggled. "We'll… a…" Alya stuttered, "jam straight from there! To, uh, the dentist!"

"Yes, yes. Awesome!" Marinette giggled, "To the dentist, I'll be right there." Marinette got ready to leave until she saw her grandmother looking shocked as she held their ice cream. Nonna looked betrayed, but stayed silent as Marinette quickly came up with excuses to leave her nonna and go with Alya to the dentist.

"Surely you're not going to the dentist on your birthday?" Nonna asked. "I still have to take you to see the trains at the-"

"Excuse me," Lee interrupted Marinette's grandmother, "Marinette thinks that the excuse of a dentist is a surprise birthday party. She simply wants to check it out."

Marinette flushed and wondered how Lee knew. Then again, he probably already knew she was onto the plan of her friends.

"I get it my fairy," Nonna smiled, "Don't worry about me. Run along now and meet with your friend."

"Are you sure?" Marinette asked. She was unsure about leaving her grandmother here alone.

"Go on," Nonna encouraged. "I'll hold onto all this until you come back and we can talk to each other about it."

"Ah! Thank you!" Marinette threw her arms around her grandmother before she ran off. Lee would probably catch up later so he doesn't arouse suspicion. She just really hoped that lee didn't rat her out to everyone else. "You really are the best grandma in the world!" Marinette shouted her last words before she turned the corner.

Marinette's grandmother sighed as she took a seat at the bench. She really didn't think that her time with her granddaughter would be so short.

"Marinette's grandmother?"

A boy's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Marinette's grandmother looked up to see the Asian boy from before.

"Marinette forgot this," the boy revealed the candy box that Marinette's grandmother gave to her earlier today. "Are you a little disappointed in Marinette?"

"In Marinetta? Why would I be?" Her grandmother asked confused.

"Well," Lee trailed off as he gazed at the water under the bridge. "I am. A grandchild who doesn't want to spend time with her grandparent, that's simply disappointing. I honestly hoped better for Marinette."

"What do you mean?" Marinette's grandmother frowned.

"I would give anything to be with my grandparents and spend all my time with them," the boy responded, "That's all. I'm disappointed in her behavior as a friend."

"…"

"Also," the boy added as he stood up, "You should take a candy from Marinette's box. I'm sure she wouldn't mind losing one or two." Then the boy walked away slowly, heading the same way that Marinette had left.

…

Marinette hugged her friends and opened her presents. Each gift was carefully thought of or just had sentiment. It was really sweet! Meanwhile her grandmother had arrived at the bakery and opened the candy box only to spot the spat out candies Marinette left in the tin.

Hawkmoth took his chance with the grandmother. He also realized that the boy was actually helpful, although he had yet to receive a name. Hawkmoth had ordered Befana, the akuma, to retrieve the Silver Panda's miraculous as well. She appeared often if not always when there was an attack similarly to Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Maybe there were more miraculous hidden. Hawkmoth mused, if so… he wanted them all.

…

Marinette stared at the gift that she received from Adrien. It excited her, a gift from her one and only crush! Just as Marinette was going to unwrap the gift, she heard singing from up above.

It was an akumatized victim!

It only took a second for Marinette to realize who the victim was and she watched in horror. IT took another second for all her friends to hide. And then another for Marinette to barely dodge an attack by her grandmother.

"I am Befana," she said as she pointed the candy gun at Marinette. "And you will be punished." Just before the trigger was pulled, the gun was hit by a stick and the aim was changed. Marinette and Befana turned to look at the new person and Marinette couldn't help but feel anymore happier.

"Hey," Chat Noir grinned, "I never knew grandmas could be so nasty."

"You would look wonderful in white, my pretty kitty!" Befana replied as she pointed her gun at Chat Noir. Chat Noir dodged easily and posed cutely.

"Eh," he said, "I'm not convinced! I'm more into black; it makes my eyes stand out." Chat Noir winked, "Don't you think?" He continued to dodge the attacks fired before Befana told her fairy to take care of the pussy cat.

Chat Noir huffed as he was blown aside by a tackle the fairy made and Befana made her way to Marinette. Marinette ran and dodged an attack because she tripped. However, the joy was short lived when the gift she got from Adrien fell in front of her. Just as Marinette was going to grab the gift, the gift turned into coal.

Marinette panicked as she hid under a table. She needed to transform, but Befana wasn't giving her enough time to do so. Marinette rushed out of the table as it turned into coal.

During the attack, Marinette's classmates were hiding together unlike Marinette who was running and Adrien who disappeared off on his own.

"We aren't helping Marinette?" Lee asked coolly as he watched his other classmates. He had his arms crossed and a frown on his face. Alya had to drag him to hide with the group, which he didn't seem pleased about. Neither did anyone else present with him.

"No! Of course not," Alya hissed, "We got to help Marinette!" Alya then ran out and started to attack Befana with plates. The coal candy hit the plate and traveled up to Alya turning her into coal as well.

It moved through connected things, Marinette noted.

Then Kim turned into coal. Rose stuck up for Marinette and became a fairy. Everything was descending into chaos. Marinette hid and was about to transform until Chat Noir appeared. He picked her up bridal style and started to run off to find a place for her to hide.

"Marinette is getting away with the kitty!" Befana snarled, "Catch them!" She ordered her two lovely fairies. She was displeased to see the two fairies being held down by party banners and Marinette's friends.

"Marinette is cool so don't touch her," Juleka huffed as she tugged on one side.

"We won't let you hurt Marinette!" Max shouted as he tugged on the other side.

Befana was enraged. She ignored their valiant efforts of protecting a friend and turned them into coal.

…

"You must be a real cool girl if all your friends are sticking up for you like that," Chat Noir commented as he ran across the roofs of Paris. He was looking for a place to hide her, somewhere safe where Befana wouldn't find her. "So why's your grandma flipping out?"

"I think she wanted me to spend more time with her," Marinette replied unevenly.

"Why didn't you?" A new voice spoke. Marinette and Chat Noir turned to see Silver Panda running alongside Chat Noir. Marinette felt her eyes narrow slightly. "I would kill for sometime with my grandparents," Silver Panda added.

"I already promised Alya I would go to the dentist with her today," Marinette explained. "I didn't know that there would be a party for me!"

Silver Panda glanced at Marinette before keeping her eyes straight ahead of her. "Then why did you choose going to the dentist over staying with your grandmother?"

"…" Marinette stayed silent, she couldn't fight with that statement. Out of context, it was much more obvious that staying with her grandmother sounded better than going to the dentist.

"Take her somewhere safe, Chat Noir," Silver Panda said as she stopped running. She turned around to face the fairies and pulled out her blocks of wood. "I'll buy us some time until Ladybug gets here."

"Okay!" Chat Noir quickly agreed. He made it over to the Eiffel tower and left Marinette there. He wished her a happy birthday before he went back to where Silver Panda stayed back. Marinette thanked him as he jumped off. When Chat Noir was gone from her line of vision, Marinette quickly summoned Tikki and transformed.

…

Silver Panda threw one of her wooden pieces at the bicycle's tires. With good precision she managed to stop the bicycle and make Befana fall off. Befana was caught by her multiple fairies and placed at a roof on the other side as Silver Panda summoned the piece she threw at Befana back into her hands.

Silver Panda clicked her tongue at the sight of the many fairies. The fight was starting to get more difficult, she narrowed her silver eyes. The glitters of light in her eyes started to fade out as Befana pulled the trigger.

Before the attack could come closer and the lights faded, a staff hit the ball of light, destroying it.

"Chat Noir comes to, unexpectedly…" Chat Noir began to sing much to Silver Panda's amusement. He paused slightly and turned to Silver Panda. "Uh, how do we make that rhyme?" before Silver Panda could answer, someone else sang.

"Fighting evil," Ladybug sang as she hopped next to Chat Noir. "With his lady."

"Of course!" Chat Noir turned to Ladybug, "Not bad bugaboo!"

"Amazing," Silver Panda praised both heroes. She focused her attention on Ladybug as she asked, "Alliance?"

"No choice," Ladybug muttered.

Before Chat could ask the girls about their situation, Befana asked where Marinette was hidden. When the heroes refused to answer, Befana sent her fairies to distract them as she took a look around Paris. Befana smirked as she headed towards the Eiffel Tower. That was the only place the kitty would take her!

"Chat Noir!" Silver Panda shouted in a slight state of panic. She ducked from a tackling fairy and jumped on another's back. She then started to make her way to the Eiffel Tower in a rushed manner as Chat Noir did the same. Ladybug tried to stop the duo from heading towards danger, but she realized it was futile since she couldn't reveal her identity.

During their journey to the Eiffel Tower, Chat Noir hitched a ride with Befana and distracted her for a little bit. Then he was knocked off the flying bicycle. Ladybug quickly caught him as she swung below the Eiffel Tower using her yoyo.

"What a sweet ladybug you are," Befana praised, "you would make a perfect fairy!" Ladybug dodged all the attacks aimed at her hiding behind the poles of the Eiffel Tower.

"Thanks, but no thanks," Ladybug cheekily replied. She also noted how the candies did not spread far when hit with a big surface.

"You can't turn down a gift you rude little imp!" Befana fumed. She turned to her fairies. "You take care of the kitty and the panda, my fairies, while I punish this polka dot brat," she ordered.

Silver Panda quickly grabbed Chat Noir's hand and led him away from the Fairies as they climbed the Eiffel tower. Ladybug also began to climb the tower as she dodged the balls of light. Suddenly the light started to rain back down and Ladybug ducked down into the Eiffel Tower. Inside, Ladybug watched Befana dodge her own attacks and quickly rushed down to tell the other two heroes.

"She can't touch her own candies!" Ladybug confessed.

Silver Panda nodded before she went down a level to busy the fairies.

Chat Noir then pointed out how the akuma was in the candy box that Befana used to refill her gun.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted. A tuba appeared; both Chat Noir and Ladybug looked at each other helplessly. Then coal candies were shot around the two Parisians. The floor began to turn into coal and both heroes knew that if they kept contact with the coal changing floor, they would become coal as well.

"Jump!" Ladybug shouted as the duo leapt. The floor finished its completion but could not hold the weight of the two heroes who crashed on it. The coal gave way and the two heroes were about to fall. Silver Panda caught the two heroes and placed them on their feet.

When the three heroes were stabilized, they realized that they were surrounded by fairies. Silver Panda and Chat Noir got ready to fight but they held down when Ladybug spoke up.

"Okay, you win Befana," Ladybug said.

Silver Panda raised a brow as she glanced over to Ladybug. Chat Noir let out a confused noise. Ladybug winked at the two heroes hoping they would follow through with her plan. Luckily, they both nodded.

"O-okay," Chat Noir stuttered as he confessed, "I'm sorry. You're granddaughter is here."

"Never too late to tell the truth," Silver Panda muttered softly.

"Right?" Ladybug backed Silver Panda up. Hopefully, Befana wouldn't turn Chat Noir into coal with the comments.

"I don't believe you," Befana growled.

"I'll take you to her myself," Chat Noir offered. He stood up slowly with both his hands in the air. He glanced at Ladybug who nodded and mouthed him to go on.

"Keep an eye on the Ladybug and her Panda friend," Befana hummed to her fairies. She followed Chat Noir, looking away from the circle of fairies and the hero duo. Just as Befana was led by Chat Noir, Ladybug whispered to Silver Panda's ear. Silver Panda simply disappeared a second later.

Then Silver Panda was back as she started to tie up the fairies using a hose she pulled out from the wall. Ladybug helped Silver Panda by rounding the fairies up to a tight group. Just then the two girls could hear Chat Noir and Befana.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Befana bellowed, "She isn't here!"

"I guess I'm a compulsive liar?" Chat Noir shrugged with a smirk.

Ladybug pushed the elevator button as Silver Panda headed to the edge of the floor. Ladybug then followed Silver Panda and met up with Chat Noir on the way. Just as Ladybug predicted, Befana waited underneath the heroes with the gun facing the elevator.

When the elevator doors opened with a small ding, Befana was confused to see all her fairies tied up together.

Chat Noir used his power on the fire hydrant as Silver Panda pushed Befana towards the water. Befana screamed and shot at the fire hydrant with coal to make it stop. Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Silver Panda watched as the hydrant turned into coal and it traced the water all the way to Befana.

"What?! No!" Befana screamed when she noticed she was turning into coal.

Silver Panda picked up the candy box and threw it to Ladybug. Ladybug kicked down and broke the box causing the akuma to escape. Ladybug then purified the butterfly and returned the city to its state before the akuma wrecked it.

"Pound it!"

Chat Noir and Ladybug yelled as they fist bumped each other. Silver Panda was walking off, but was caught in surprise with Chat Noir grabbed her hand. He cupped her hand, turning it to a fist before fist bumping her as well.

"Hopefully, I'll see you again later," Chat Noir hummed. Then he disappeared off away from her and Silver Panda couldn't help but giggle at the cat's silly antics.

"He reminds me of him," Silver Panda mused, a shadow of someone else taking place after Chat Noir's fading back.

…

Marinette enjoyed the party she was given. Ivan and Kim raised her up high when her parents came in with the large cake. At her current height she was able to blow all the candles on her cake. They let her down after all the candles were blown out. The party was a blast; Marinette's grandmother was there too. Then Adrien walked over to Marinette with Lee.

Adrien gave her his gift and Marinette opened it excitedly with a grin. She noticed how Adrien was trying to hold in any animosity towards Lee for the sake of her birthday. It was really sweet. The gift was a handmade lucky charm. Adrien smiled as he pulled out the lucky charm she made a long time ago. He claimed that he carried the lucky charm with him all the time and that it works for him so he made a lucky charm for her.

"You're so wonderful, I mean, err, what a charm!" Marinette stumbled over her words as she blushed. She was so happy. "Thank you," Marinette smiled. Her family awed behind her which was super cute and embarrassing.

Adrien stayed by Marinette's side to see what gift she would be receiving from him. Lee's gift was wrapped in oriental paper with golden designs on a shiny silver base. Marinette unwrapped the gift to find a cute outfit set.

"Hanbok," Lee muttered, his eyes moving to the side. "It's a traditional dress from where I'm from."

Marinette looked at the floral patterns and noticed that they were all one type of flower. She would have to ask him about it later, Marinette mused as she continued to look at the dress. It seemed to be made out of a veil like material. On the top of the dress, there was a silk pouch with symbols stitched on it.

마리네뜨

"It's your name," Lee explained.

"You made all this?" Marinette asked wide eyed, it seemed to be done by a professional. She asked the question just in case, she doubted Lee made it but he seemed to have a knack of everything.

"Oh, no," Lee said. "I only made the pouch out of scratch and modified the hanbok so it would fit you."

Even Adrien seemed to be placated by the extraordinary gift. Lee then left and Adrien went to join Nino. Marinette smiled, the party went well in end.

Marinette walked away from the crowd to talk with Tikki. She had already spoke with her grandmother and how she turned the small shirt into a cute purse much to her nonna's joy. Marinette gushed about the beautiful hanbok that Lee gave her and mostly about Adrien's lucky charm. She gloated about how the charm was made especially for her.

"Yeah, well it's kind of a weird gift if you ask me," Tikki replied.

"Huh?" Marinette glanced at Tikki before she winked, "No weirder than yours Tikki."

Tikki puffed out her cheeks in anger and turned away. Marinette then showed Tikki the necklace she made out of Tikki's gift.

"But that doesn't mean they're not both precious to me," Marinette smiled. Marinette hugged her kwami, "The most important thing about a present Tikki, is about the person who's giving it."


	6. Fencing Abilities (Ch6)

**Hi! I updated on the date today! I should make a certain time, but since its sort of inconsistent, I probably shouldn't...**

* * *

"Never knew you liked fencing," Lee glanced over at Marinette and raised an eyebrow. Over the days of his stay, Lee had gotten rather close to Marinette, texting her sometimes along with accompanying her sometimes such as now.

"I want to get into the fencing academy so that Adrien and I will be in the same team," Marinette replied with a smile. Lee hasn't been showing much emotion as normal, but Marinette could pull a smile here and there sometimes. "Why are you here Lee?" Marinette tried on another helmet only to have it slip off.

"To cheer you on," Lee shrugged. Marinette mentioned where she would be so he followed her to the tryouts. It wasn't like he had anything better to do. "I guess. I really don't care what you do, but-"

Lee was cut off when the coach walked in briskly. He looked at the duo with a tight frown and snapped at them.

"Make it quick and get out," the coach yelled, "Both of you!"

Lee seemed a little taken back from the shout because he was rigid for a few seconds. He quickly recovered and said, "Sir, I'm not planning to-"

"Why aren't you wearing a suit?" The coach shouted as he pulled Lee over to the side. He gave Lee a fencing suit and studied the boy's facial structure before handing him a helmet. "Hurry up!" The coach repeated before leaving.

Marinette giggled at Lee. He shot her a look. Marinette ignored the feeling the look gave off; Lee was warming up to her, that's all she could ask for. During the time Lee was here, he was always doing his best to speak to her whenever possible even if he didn't look at the other classmates.

Marinette and Lee walked outside where they were awaited by the coach. He stated their practice and then started to pair up the experienced students with the new ones. There was only one open spot in the academy and he had to pick the best fencer amongst everyone here. There was an uneven number and the coach deduced that there had to be a group of three. He decided to let his best fencer take on the challenge of two candidates.

Marinette and Lee were put together as they followed the masked fencer to an area where they could practice fencing. Lee watched as Marinette stepped up first. She started to stretch her neck looking around the room.

"Seems like you're looking for someone?" The fencer asked Marinette.

When the fencer spoke, Lee raised an eyebrow at the voice. His dulled eyes scanned the body of the fencer before he huffed and pulled his braid to the front. Lee pet his braid a little. Then he decided to allow Marinette embarrass herself for his amusement.

"Yeah, I thought Adrien would be here," Marinette stated. "You know a boy this tall," she rose her hand to about Adrien's height, "blonde, nice, super handsome…"

"Thanks for the compliments," Adrien grinned as he took his helmet off to let Marinette see his face. He ignored Lee who was watching at the back.

"Wah!" Marinette screeched in shock. Adrien smiled as he got into position.

"I didn't know you were into fencing, Marinette," Adrien stated with a smile.

Marinette stumbled across her words causing Adrien to laugh. After a little while Marinette and Adrien both laughed together and Adrien started to give Marinette directions on positions and on fencing in general. Lee just watched the two spar with interest, his hair sent to his back. Adrien complimented Marinette on her reflexes and how she was able to dodge his attacks. Then someone shouted and everyone turned to spot a person in a red suit.

"I want to join your team," the person in red claimed. They walked around and started to talk about how they wanted to join the team. They claimed that they would defeat the best student of the fencing academy to do so. The coach chose Adrien to fight for the academy and soon the two were sparring.

Lee watched as Marinette complained about not being able to make the team since the boy in red was better than the other candidates. Lee contemplated whether or not he should assure Marinette. Suddenly another fencer in the team started to tell Marinette the rules of fencing and how the winner would be chosen.

Suddenly, the boy in red claimed that they wanted to play the old fashioned way. The coach agreed, excited for the spectacular fight. The two fenced everywhere and ended up in a room. Lee just calmly followed Marinette who followed the duo. Marinette watched the two boys duke it out and before she knew it, the battle was over.

"Who got the first hit?! Who?!" The boy in red shouted angrily. Marinette's eyes went wide as she glanced at Lee who shrugged. The trampled coach struggled over to the quartet and asked the same question. Marinette panicked a little on the inside.

"I think it was-" Marinette began. She was a little nervous because she didn't know if she would be wrong or not.

"Adrien."

Both Lee and Marinette spoke simultaneously gaining cheers from the crowd that watched the epic battle. The boy in red shouted in anger and walked away. Adrien walked over to Marinette, making another effort in ignoring Lee.

"Are you sure Marinette? I think he touched me first," Adrien asked, his green eyes wide and pleading.

"Referee has the last word," the coach stated.

Marinette then noticed that Lee wasn't next to her. In fact he was following the boy in red and stopped at the entrance, watching the boy in red walk off.

When Marinette turned back to Adrien, he claimed that he would offer a decisive match and the coach let Adrien go. Marinette also ran down to see if the boy would agree to take the match. When Adrien reached the boy with the boy in red's saber in his hand he was shocked to see the fencer.

The fencer took off their mask and revealed their identity as a beautiful Asian girl.

"Let's…." Adrien faltered a little. He spoke slowly, staring at the girl as Marinette walked up to the door where Lee was. "Do a… decisive match?" Adrien offered. He noticed the ring she wore on her finger and then looked back up at her face.

"What's the point?" The girl asked. "You won, there's no such thing as a second chance in life." She looked away from Adrien and her blade as she stepped into her car. "Goodbye." Then the car left.

Adrien went into his own car and quickly ordered his chauffeur to follow the car the girl was in. Marinette watched the scenario with wide eyes and then noticed an Akuma follow the train of cars.

"Lee! Follow me!" Marinette shouted. She couldn't leave Lee here alone. She also couldn't tell him about the akuma following the cars.

"I have to go so no thanks," Lee hummed as he walked towards the opposite direction. "Sorry Marinette."

Marinette didn't mind as much since it gave her a chance to transform into Ladybug. Marinette quickly found a hiding spot to transform. Tikki flew out of her purse and Marinette nodded.

"Better capture it soon before it turns someone into an akuma," Marinette stated.

"At your service Marinette!" Tikki replied.

"Quick!" Marinette huffed. "Adrien is in danger! Tikki, spots on!"

Marinette transformed into Ladybug and Ladybug hastily made her way to the cars. She had to purify the akuma before anyone got hurt.

…

The girl in red sighed as she looked up to the roof of her car. She was disappointed with herself. She called her mother but realized that her mother would not be answering her because she was busy. It saddened her more when she heard her mother state she was too busy to pick up the phone. The girl left her mother a message.

"Mother, you thought I was good enough, but…" The girl heaved as the car stopped at a stoplight. "I lost…. I won't be joining the D'Argencourt academy." She then hung up and let out a silent sigh of dejection.

Tap. Tap.

Someone's finger rapped on the car's window. The girl turned her head to see another Asian like herself. He was wearing the tryout outfit from the fencing tryouts this morning. He motioned for her to roll down her window.

"Park nearby," the girl ordered the driver. He obeyed and the car stopped at the next corner. The boy walked over to the car and she rolled the windows down for him.

"What do you want?" She asked, suspicious of his behavior.

The boy had a butterfly on his braided hair. He cupped the beautiful, black butterfly and held it out to her. She stared at him and frowned. Their eyes clashed, dark brown flashed in warning of the motionless gold.

"What do you want?" She repeated the question to the boy.

He wordlessly reached into the car with one hand much to her shock. He then gently grabbed her hand with her family's ring and allowed the butterfly to walk from his hand to hers.

He looked at her, his golden eyes softening into something more humane. A gentle push as if this boy, she has never met and doesn't know about, was always by her side cheering her on. His eyes held something similar to her.

"I just want you to be strong," the boy claimed with a surprisingly charming smile. His golden eyes that melted into honey stared into her. "Because you deserve it."

The butterfly landed on her ring and disappeared.

"Riposte," the girl heard someone else speak. She was given a second chance and power, the things that she always wished for. The things she deserved! The boy watched her transform from the corner of his eyes as he left her. He closed his eyes gently and opened them only to keep them forward. He didn't want to get caught up in her mess after all.

…

"I knew it!" Adrien spoke to Plagg as he searched the internet on his phone. "She's the only daughter to a prestigious fencing family in Japan. They're world champions! I heard about it before!" He looked over to his kwami with a large smile, "How incredible!"

Then Adrien's car snapped in two like a knife cutting butter.

"I'm taking you up on that offer of a decisive match!" The being spoke with a grin. Adrien immediately realized the girl as the one who lost to him this morning.

"…I…" Adrien stared at her incredulously, "I can't fight you like this. You're not yourself!" He ran out of his car so he had more space to run away.

"Fight!" The akumatized victim ordered as she got into a battle stance. She revealed herself to be Riposte, but before she fought Adrien, Hawkmoth stated that she wouldn't be able to fight Adrien without beating Ladybug, Chat Noir, and the Panda. Riposte gladly accepted the man's words and told Adrien to stay still.

Ladybug then appeared in front of Adrien and tried to pull the sword away from Riposte's hand but she realized that the sword was fused with her hand. She stood still shocked at the fusion.

Riposte took advantage of Ladybug's shock and attempted to cut Ladybug. Ladybug quickly used her yoyo to create a shield to fend off the sharp attacks. As Ladybug blocked the sword attacks, Adrien threw the girl's sword to Ladybug and told the hero to fight back. Sadly, Ladybug was pushed down the second she received the sword. Just before Riposte could cut Ladybug, Adrien jumped towards his hero and they both rolled to safety at the expense of Adrien's left leg.

"Ouch!"

"Are you hurt?" Ladybug looked at Adrien with a lot of worry. Fear clouding her eyes as she inspected him.

"I'm fine," Adrien grunted. He turned a little red as Ladybug started to check him.

"I've got to get you out of here," Ladybug stated, "As far away from that girl as possible."

"Sounds like a plan," Adrien smiled weakly at Ladybug. Ladybug then held Adrien in a bridal style and hopped over to a roof where they could hide behind a chimney.

"What kind of fencing was that?" Ladybug asked Adrien as she gently placed the delicate, beautiful boy on the chimney.

"Nothing like I've ever seen," Adrien admitted as he shook his head a little. He placed his hands on his injured leg and looked up to Ladybug as she pulled out her communicator.

"It's going to be hard for me to protect you and fight at the same time," Ladybug stated. She attempted to call her partner with no luck. "Where are you, Chat Noir?"

Adrien tapped his chin, his eyes avoiding Ladybug's. "Maybe he's…" Adrien threw his arms up, "Busy?" The boy then placed his hands back on his injured leg.

"Maybe I could be of use, Ladybug?"

Ladybug groaned slightly as Silver Panda appeared from the other side of the chimney. She jumped in the air before Ladybug could answer. Just then, cutting noises were heard and Riposte cut the chimney up to reveal Ladybug and Adrien.

"Allow me to explain the rules to you," Riposte growled, "You are not allowed to call it quits at any time! Adrien is mine! I will defeat you! All of you! I am the best fencer." Riposte declared her strength to the trio.

"Nobody's denying that," Adrien rubbed the back of his head as he tried to calm the raging girl down. "My friend Marinette made a bad call earlier."

"He's right," Ladybug agreed as if she knew what happened. "Referee errors can happen in fencing. You don't have to get bent out of shape about it."

Riposte hissed in reply, angered by their remarks.

Silver Panda shook her head as she summoned her weapons. "결합!" She whispered. The silver writing on the sticks glowed and formed a chain as they slipped to the sides. The separated sticks were connected with each other through the silver writing creating an odd nunchuck with four wooden handles. She posed for an attack.

"Get him to safety," Silver Panda ordered, "I will take care of her."

Ladybug wanted to argue but she was aware of Adrien's safety and Adrien's safety came first over everything. She nodded and noticed that Adrien had run off during this exchange. She found him hiding behind a different chimney doing some arm work.

Ladybug held Adrien tightly around the waist as she swung away to a hiding place. She didn't have to thank Silver Panda, the other heroine would only receive Ladybug's silence as a gratitude for previous events.

Ladybug went inside the Louvre with Adrien and called out to everyone inside and outside, warning them of the akuma attack. Everyone started to evacuate calmly, trusting Ladybug. Ladybug went to the Eygptian part of the Louvre and hid Adrien in a coffin. She wished him good luck and closed the coffin. She kissed the relic's lips, where Adrien would be before she walked away to fight Riposte.

Just then, she heard Riposte shout in the Louvre and Ladybug ran to meet up with the villain.

"Where did you hide Adrien?!" The villain shouted angrily. She glared at Ladybug who appeared from the corner.

"What happened to Silver Panda?" Ladybug countered. She couldn't spot the probably more experienced hero anywhere.

"Right here," a groan was heard as Silver Panda walked in. She was badly bruised, but otherwise, she looked perfectly fine. "Luckily I wasn't cut anywhere," the heroine reported, "I had to make a choice between the sword and the rubble. Obviously, I chose rubble."

Ladybug looked at Silver Panda with a raised eyebrow, her statement prompting questions. The two began to fight, nothing going right as Ladybug continuously got in the way of Silver Panda and vice versa. The two heroes were waiting for Chat Noir who had yet to appear. Soon Chat Noir joined the fray and it seemed like another victory for the heroes… if it was not for Chat Noir who was pushed out of the way. He was injured as he knelt down to cup his leg.

The heroines garnered the attention of Riposte and retreated to the Egyptian room.

"Protect that coffin!" Ladybug shouted loudly at Silver Panda. Silver Panda nodded as she ran towards the coffin; however, Riposte was faster and she cut the coffin up. Luckily Adrien wasn't inside and Riposte realized she was locked in the room by bars used to catch thieves like she locked Chat Noir. She cut through the bars with her attack and Silver Panda deflected the straying pieces of metal flung towards the three heroes.

Silver Panda glanced at the blade Ladybug had as she deflected the debris.

"May I try a hand at fencing?"

Ladybug was confused but she tossed the red blade to the other heroine. Silver Panda quickly slapped her nunchucks to her waist and like the slappy bracelets, and another line of silver letters connected it together so her weapon stayed around her waist like a lanky belt. She caught the blade tossed from Ladybug too. Silver Panda then started to parry the moves from Riposte with her own super speed despite being injured.

"I may not be good at fencing, but I'm good at stalling people," Silver Panda smiled as she parried another attack. "Ladybug quickly!"

Ladybug then used her Lucky charm and received a radiator. She was confused about the item until Chat Noir pointed out where the Akuma was. It was in the blade. Silver Panda continued to parry Riposte's attacks and defend Chat Noir and Ladybug at the same time. Chat Noir and Ladybug quickly developed a plan.

"Silver Panda!" Chat Noir shouted as he ran over to Riposte with the best of his efforts, his foot hurt, but he had to save the girl. "Watch out!"

Silver Panda ducked the jab and rolled to the side at Chat Noir's warning. Chat Noir pushed the radiator through the sword. Ladybug took Chat Noit's belt and wrung it around the radiator and the hilt of the sword. She was on Chat Noir's back and they both pulled to the side breaking the sword.

Ladybug jumped off of Chat Noir and caught the akuma. Chat Noir grunted in pain as he fell. Silver Panda caught the hero before he could hit the floor and watched Ladybug do her normal thing. When everything was fixed, Silver Panda helped Chat Noir stand up. Chat Noir tentatively stepped on his previously injured leg and smiled as he hopped around without pain.

Ladybug laughed as she walked over to Chat Noir. She held out her fist and her partner grinned.

"Pound it!"

Two fists collided. Chat Noir then noticed that Silver Panda was already gone. He had a slight frown on his face but he ran off to return to his civilian state leaving Ladybug with the girl. Ladybug helped the girl up, noticing the bob bounce as she got up and led her outside the Louvre.

Ladybug then returned to the Egyptian section to look for Adrien. When she found him the two had a heart to heart as they spoke about Chat Noir and the others. Adrien was notified to take the sword back to the girl. Silver Panda had left it on the floor before she left. Adrien nodded as he picked the sword up and ran outside to meet the girl.

The girl and Adrien spoke to each other about the morning and Marinette. Adrien defended Marinette and claimed that Marinette was a great girl. The Japanese girl refused to take her red sword back because she had lost. Behind a pillar, Marinette, who was eavesdropping, held her weeping heart as Tikki helped cheer her up.

"My name is Adrien," Adrien said as he held out a hand. "What's yours?"

"Kagami," she took his hand. Before she entered her car, she looked at Adrien and smiled, holding the sword Adrien persuaded her to take. "I look forward to that decisive match."

"I can't wait, Kagami," Adrien replied with a smile. Kagami nodded before she went inside her car. The car drove off and Adrien stepped into his own. As soon as the passenger's door was closed the silver car drove off.

Marinette sighed as she watched Adrien go home. She continued to talk with Tikki about what she overheard.

"At least now you know how much Adrien values your friendship," Tikki stated.

"Argh, I know," Marinette sighed, "Great… so he likes me. But I don't want him to just like me. I mean I do, but I want him to like me!" Marinette stretched out the 'i' sound in like as she shook her head.

"In that case," Tikki came closer to Marinette, "You might need to work on your fencing."

Marinette laughed. "On your guard, Tikki!" Marinette held up her finger as the two plated a fun, mock match of fencing.

"Marinette?"

Marinette looked up in shock at the voice. Tikki quickly dived into Marinette's purse.

"Lee?"

Golden eyes stared at the blue eyes and Lee shook his head.

"What are you doing here?" Lee asked as he stared at Marinette. Marinette quickly got up from the pillar and dusted herself as she stumbled to make an excuse.

"I was… a… I was hiding from the akuma, but I sort of wanted to take a closer peek!" Marinette squeaked awkwardly, "Hehe, I wanted to know more about the new hero!"

Lee stared at Marinette before shaking his head.

"Reckless, you know that right?" Lee asked. Marinette smiled awkwardly. "Be careful and smart, not reckless and stupid." Lee stated. Marinette gave Lee a flustered grin which Lee rolled his eyes to. He then waved at her mentioning how he had to go for the day. Marinette nodded as she watched him go.

Lee's braid swung left to right, and from the back Marinette noticed his cute hairband.

Huh, Marinette thought, That's surprisingly cute for Lee.


	7. Robotic Issues (Ch7)

**So sorry for the late update! I got a little sick (Not COVID-19) and I had to get things ready for real life. I hope that everyone around the world, especially America, is okay right now. We will all get through this together!**

* * *

As Marinette walked up with her classmates to their class Marinette blinked as she realized something.

"Oh no! I left my bag in the locker room," she slouched, "again…"

Alya and Nino laughed together. Alya patted Marinette's back.

"Check to see if you left your brain in there too girl," Alya joked with a grin. Marinette huffed at her best friend and walked back towards the lockers. On her way to the lockers, Marinette tripped. She quickly got up and opened the doors to the locker room. When she fell, Marinette could hear Alya and Nino stop laughing because Chloe and Sabrina laughed at Marinette.

"I'm okay!" Marinette called out as she slipped into the lockers. Marinette walked to her bag and picked it up. "Oh silly me," Marinette chided herself.

"Of course you're my best friend, I'm one hundred percent affirmative, but I am also 98.2 percent positive the teachers are not ready for innovative evolution."

Marinette heard Max speak at the other side of the lockers. She peeked to see Max and noticed that he was speaking into his school bag.

"His best friend is in his school bag?" Tikki asked incredulously as she glanced from Marinette's purse. Marinette rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Yeah Tikki," Marinette spoke in a sassy tone as she teased her own best friend inside her bag, "Totally strange." Marinette then saw Max walk towards her and she rushed to seem normal. She ordered Tikki to hide before she walked awkwardly, trying to act as if she just got her bag and was heading to science class.

"Hey Max," Marinette greeted Max with a wave of her hand.

"Ah…" Max said, "Oh, hey… Marinette…" He seemed a little wary and cautious, but other than that, he was the normal Max. When the two arrived at class they saw Mr. Damocles and their science teacher, Mrs. Mendelavie, looming over Mrs. Mendelavie's laptop. There seemed to be a technical problem, Marinette noted as she sat down.

"See Mr. Damocles," Mrs. Mendelavie said, "Nothing happens when I press the button."

"You're in luck, Mrs. Mendelavie," Mr. Damocles pushed her aside as he took a look at the computer with a grin. "I am a bit of a computer whiz myself." Then the principal started to rap on the keyboard and ultimately made it worse by installing a virus.

Max walked over to the computer and tried to help but was turned down by the adults. As Max walked dejectedly to his seat, a robotic voice spoke.

"Inform the adults that if they don't neutralize the virus in the next 75 seconds there is a 99.9% chance that the hard disk is going to be incredibly damaged!"

Everyone stared at Max as he sat down. The robotic voice was from Max's bag, Marinette realized. She also saw Lee dozing off from her the corner of her eyes.

"Tell me you heard Max's bag talk to him," Alya spoke to Marinette. Marinette nodded to show Alya that she too heard the bag speak.

"It's destroying all the school data," Mr. Damocles said. "I-It's a disaster." He looked over to Max with wide eyes, "How many seconds did you say we have left?"

"Only 65 seconds," Max stated as he shifted uncomfortably.

"Let him try," Mr. Damocles hummed as he motioned Max to move up. He turned the laptop around so that it was facing Max. Max stood up with his bag and walked up. "Go ahead," Mr. Damocles said.

Max dug in his school bag. "Where is it?" Max asked, panicking slightly.

"I believe this is what you are looking for?" The same robotic voice spoke as a clawed hand appeared holding a USB. Max took the USB from the robotic hand.

"Oh, thanks," Max said as he proceeded to explain what the flash drive was. He claimed he created it with the help of his best friend. Then, the hand that helped Max revealed itself to be a flying robot. The robot hummed.

"Hello! My name is Markov," the robot flew around and it's small whizzing sounds woke Lee up. Markov cheered max on, "We can fix this Max!"

Max nodded as he placed the flash drive into the laptop. Soon the virus was removed and transported to the USB, saving all the school data and the laptop from the deadly virus. Max continued to explain what he did along with Markov who inputted more information from time to time. When everything was fixed Max smiled.

"Everything is in order," Max said. He proceeded to fist bump his best friend.

"Nailed it," Markov said.

"Congratulations young man," Mr. Damocles praised, "Very impressive indeed."

Then everyone started to squeal and talk about the robotic friend. Markov seemed to like the attention answering every question he could.

"That's so," Marinette was interrupted by Alya.

"Awesome? I know!" Alya pulled out her phone, "I'm so gonna write a blog about Markov!"

Markov continued to speak and waved its singular hand as the screen that was his face changed into multiple faces.

"Max is a genius," Adrien complimented off at the side.

"You've added arms to him since the last time," Kim said. He was Max's other best friend. "That's cool," he praised his best friend.

"Markov added them all by himself," Max stated with a grin in a matter-of-fact tone. "He's the most highly evolved type of robot there is."

"Puh-lease," Chloe huffed loudly. Everyone quieted down to look at Chloe who didn't move out of her chair. "Your friend is nothing but a talking calculator. There is nothing evolved about that." Chloe crossed her arms as she looked at Markov.

Marinette then stuck up for the robot and told him not to listen to Chloe. The whole class laughed as Marinette dissed Chloe in the class stating that Chloe did not have a heart. Chloe retorted weakly with a stupid excuse, but the fight was broken up quickly with Markov's sweet words. He stated that he knew everyone in the classroom because Max showed the class photos to the robot and spoke about his classmates a lot. Marinette also noticed that the robot had feelings and a sense of humor.

"I'm very happy to finally meet you," Markov said, "Even Chloe!" Chloe looked shocked, but a pleased blush appeared on her face as she looked away to hide her emotions.

Meanwhile Lee caught Mrs. Mendelavie's attention and asked if she was going to start the class with the disruption of the new robot. Mrs. Mendelavie quickly tried to take control of the room since the principal was still in the classroom.

"The story you've manufactured is quite impressive Max," she said, "Now put it away please. Come on everybody back to your seats."

"With all due respect Mrs. Mendelavie," the robot stood up for itself," I'm not a toy. My name is Markov and I'm max's best friend." The helicopter parts on its forehead spun as it flew.

"Markov is right," Max hummed in agreement. He smiled at his best friend as he claimed, "He's not just some toy, he's my friend. He's as emotionally intelligent and sensitive as any human being."

"Look Max," Mrs. Mendelavie said, "A robot may be intelligent but it can't have emotions." She claimed as she stared at the floating robot. She frowned when the robot continued to defend itself and Max.

"If I may ma'am, I may assure you that I truly love Max," Markov's eyes turned into hearts to prove his point.

"Be serious Max," Mrs. Mendelavie said. "You programmed it to say that. A robot cannot think for itself, much less love anybody."

"I swear I did not program him to say that," Max argued. He was getting heated up because his best friend was being attacked. Max started to talk about how his robotic best friend was evolutionary and just as human as anyone in the room.

"That's enough Max!" Mrs. Mendelavie yelled. She could not stand being made a fool. "If you don't put away that play thing of yours right now I'll confiscate it. Understand?"

"Yes, Mrs. Mendelavie," Max said sadly. "Come on Markov, in the bag." Max motioned towards the bag.

"You're not being reasonable Mrs. Mendelavie," Markov argued. Max retorted that Markov should listen to him and the two best friends got into a heated argument of whether or not Markov should be sent back into the bag or not. Markov ridiculed the teacher causing all the students, with the exception of Lee, to laugh at her.

Then Mr. Damocles took control of the situation and snatched the robot from the air. He informed Max that Max could get Markov back at the end of the day. Mr. Damocles asked if Max wanted detention when Max tried to protest against Markov being taken. Max backed down and the robot started to wail for the presence of his best friend.

Mr. Damocles called Markov a toy and flipped the switch on the robot hoping that he had such a thing for all of his students. However, Markov was not off like Mr. Damocles believed he was. His function for movement was stolen, but it's mentality was still effective. It sadly looked to the bottom of the cardboard it was stuck in.

…

"Marcov has never been without me by his side," Max said as he turned to look at Marinette, "I don't know how he's going to emotionally handle this."

"Hold on," Marinette promised her classmate, "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Marinette," Max replied with a smile. He was thankful for having such a caring friend.

Marinette then asked to be allowed to go to the principal's office as the class representative. When Mrs. Mendelavie refused, Marinette started to speak about the robot causing Mrs. Mendelavie to get mad and Mrs. Mendelavie sent Marinette to the principal's office. Lee watched the exchange and let out a huff of air.

"Mrs. Mendelavie," Lee raised his hand slowly, "Can I leave class for a little bit?"

"What is it?" Mrs. Mendelavie hissed angrily.

"I just got a text, family emergency…" Lee pulled his phone out and waved it slightly.

"No phones in class!" Mrs. Mendelavie shouted.

"Do you not care about what could happen? Should I simply stay?' Lee prompted Mrs. Mendelavie with choices as he wove his phone again.

"Just go," Mrs. Mendelavie said exasperatedly.

"Thank you," Lee hummed as he stood up. He left the classroom causing a murmur of whispers to go around.

…

Meanwhile, Marinette asked Mr. Damocles to release Markov. She was continuously refused until the principal's door fell as if someone kicked it open. Markov, now akumatized, appeared. Marinette rushed to transform as she heard Mr. Damocles fall to the ground.

Markov laughed evilly and used its new power to control all electronics to ruin humankind. He started to build a gigantic robot. Then the akumatized robot bellowed in anger.

"I AM NOT A TOY!"

"Now I see why Max was worried," Tikki hummed from her hiding place. Marinette nodded in agreement.

"Time to transform," Marinette glanced at Tikki, "Tikki, spots on!"

…

Markov found the person he was looking for. The one person he was longing for.

"There you are, Max!"

"Max come to me!" Mrs. Mendelavie shouted as she pulled her student into a hug to protect him from the dangerous robot. The robot had a claw which took both the student and the teacher. The claw opened up revealing both of the people to be safe. The teacher was tossed aside like trash as Max was brought inside the car head with Markov.

"Markov what are you doing?!" Max asked his best friend.

"From now on I am Robostus," the villain announced. He used his new ability to clip the seatbelt on his best friend and drop a helmet on his head. Safety was first for his fragile human friend after all. "And we shall be together, 100 percent of the time! Forever!" Robostus declared.

…

Adrien rushed to hide in a bathroom stall. Plagg appeared from his hiding area and looked at Adrien.

"One thing's for sure," Adrien stated, "Max's friend definitely has emotions."

"Yep, but not the kind that really matters," Plagg sighed in pity, "The robot doesn't eat! So he will never experience the goodness of cheese!"

"You really are something," Adrien remarked with a laugh. "Plagg, claws out!"

…

Mrs. Mendelavie started to yell because she was hung up by her lab coat on the railings of the roof.

"Let me go! Max, control your robot!" Mrs. Mendelavie ordered her student.

"Please don't do anything foolish," Max pleaded with his best friend. He truly didn't want anyone to get hurt, especially since Markov was a great friend; a good person, not a villain.

"You must trust me my friend," Robostus reasoned with his best friend.

"You cannot do this!" Mrs. Mendelavie shouted from her place high above.

"This is what happens when you separate me and my friend Max!" Robostus shouted in anger. He would not forget this morning when the teachers forced the two best friends to separate. Just then Mrs. Mendelavie's lab coat ripped and she started to fall to the ground. Fortunately, Ladybug caught her before she could get injured.

When Ladybug placed Mrs. Mendelavie, the purple haired teacher ran away for her life. Ladybug turned, narrowing her eyes.

"If you truly love your friend, then you should listen to him Robostus!"

"Yeah, like we do!" Chat Noir popped up and winked at the robot. Ladybug groaned, but she held a soft smile on her face.

Robostus yelled at Chat Noir and Ladybug. How dare they try to separate him and Max. How dare they think they were more human than he was! He shouted at the heroes claiming that he would prove to be the better person than both heroes combined.

"Do you really think that Max is happy about his best friend becoming a super villain?" Ladybug questioned Robostus. Robostus hesitated for a little bit. He turned to clarify Ladybug's question with his best friend looking at Max.

"You should stop this Markov," Max stated.

"I'm doing this for our friendship, Max," Robostus cried. Why did his best friend not understand this simple feeling of emotion? "They want to keep us apart!"

While Robostus was distracted, Chat Noir tried to rush the robot, but he got caught. Ladybug tried to save her partner but they were both thrown out of the school. They watched the robot hop away further into the city.

"It seems he knows where he's going," Chat Noir hummed, "You and I should play this sage. This robot's brain is better than yours and mine combined."

"Speak for yourself," Ladybug snorted as she started chasing the robot. She called on her partner who immediately was by her side. On their way of following the trail, they had to save the civilians who were being attacked by everyday electronics. Ladybug and Chat Noir hid on the roof with no electronics near them. Just then they got a notification from the news as they watched the anchor, Nadia, announce a new mayor. The new mayor was a lamp who continued to flutter on and off.

"Is that Morse code?' Ladybug questioned as she watched the lights flicker.

"Do you need subtitles?" Chat Noir winked, "I speak several languages." Then he proceeded to translate the words from the lamp to Ladybug. "Humans… will soon be treated the same way as objects?"

From the roof, Ladybug could see people being herded around and treated badly all around the city. She told Chat Noir that they needed to find the akuma and pure it. Chat Noir simply agreed as he looked at the state of the city. They found a trail of broken pieces of concrete that would lead them to where Robostus was.

It led to the stadium.

No footprints.

There were no footprints in the stadium. Then they noticed cars coming in from the tunnels and the cars surrounded the two heroes. Chat Noir and Ladybug tried to escape Robostus but they were knocked down by helicopters. The heroes were caught by the villain. Robostus rebuilt himself and laughed at the predicament the heroes were in.

"I told you that hard drive would give us trouble," Chat Noir grumbled.

"How about you give us a cataclysm right now?" Ladybug hushed.

"I can't!" Chat Noir proclaimed. When they were knocked down and caught by Robostus, Chat Noir was held upside down unlike Ladybug who was caught right side up. "I can barely breathe!"

Robostus laughed about how the two heroes were at his mercy. He then told Max about the wish that could be granted if the ladybug miraculous and the cat miraculous was fused. Robostus stated that he could turn into a human. Robostus laughed as victory continued to come closer to him, unaware of his best friend sneaking out of the car.

…

"May I remind you Robostus, those miraculous are for me," Hawkmoth growled.

"And how do you intend to stop me from using them?" Robostus cackled.

"Simple," Hawkmoth threatened, "I'll take your power away from you."

Robostus laughed and laughed and laughed. He mocked Hawkmoth and then replied, "You really thought you could control me?!"

Hawkmoth was about to retort until he heard something off.

"Intrusion, intrusion."

Hawkmoth was startled as his base started to close off and go into a forced lockdown.

"Elimination mode activated," the base said in its automated voice.

"I'm more powerful than you, Hawkmoth!" Robostus claimed as he shouted with a grin. Hawkmoth growled as his defense mechanisms activated and tried to eliminate him, seeing their owner as the trespasser they must eliminate. When Hawkmoth knocked a rocket away he noticed a missile launched at his face. To his relief and shock, the missile was kicked away and blew up at the side of his base.

"Looks like I made it in time," a boy huffed. He fixed his white t-shirt slightly covered in soot and he flipped his hair. He glanced at Hawkmoth, his dull eyes bored. "I chose to come to you instead. So let's settle things and don't disappoint me."

Hawkmoth scoffed, but he felt his lips twitch into a smile. Maybe making the deal wasn't his worst decision ever.

Robostus seemed surprised at the new intrusion but said nothing. It was something he didn't calculate, but Robostus knew that even the strongest would fall. Especially since humans would get tired faster than machines.

Hawkmoth misdirected a missile with his staff as the boy gave another rocket a hard kick.

"You're pretty good," Hawkmoth complimented the boy, pretending as if he didn't see the boy's bloody knuckles from punching metal and his pants darkening with a stronger scent of metal than the missiles themselves.

"Too bad I ain't a hero," the boy replied as he grabbed a missile. He redirected the missile to hit one of Hawkmoth's defense systems to effectively cut off more missiles being fired.

"Yet you could be if you so wished," Hawkmoth claimed as he narrowly dodged a bullet. "With my akumas, of course."

"Nah," the boy replied lazily, despite his reddening body. "Our deal doesn't work that way."

…

The robots were stopped from taking the miraculous as Max started to help the heroes. Max stated that he wanted Robostus to change back into Markov. Max wanted Markov not Robostus and this statement angered the robot immensely. The villain hissed as he declared his decision to destroy all human kind.

Ladybug, now freed, used her lucky charm. She was in shock at how her lucky charm was taken away by Robostus who angrily declared her weakness. Ladybug took a quick look around and got an idea of what she wanted to do. Chat Noir saved Max as Ladybug attacked Robostus. Ladybug prevented Robostus from moving and placed the virus from this morning into him. His file got ruined and the akuma left.

…

"Grah!" Hawkmoth grunted. He was tattered and exhausted. When he turned to the side, he noticed that the dark haired boy seemed tired too. It made sense for a normal human boy to be more exhausted than the one in a hero suit. The boy's clothes were singed and his knuckles were bloody. The red from his skin was dripping on the floor and it wasn't so ignorable as it was before. Suddenly a light overcame the base and everything was recovered including the boy's pains.

Hawkmoth lost his balance from his exhaustion, but the boy grabbed him before he could fall to the ground and pulled him up.

"I've got to get going," the boy stated as he released Hawkmoth once the man could stand on his own. He waved lazily and walked out, Hawkmoth watching him in interest. The boy recovered fast, despite his situation beforehand.

"I've made a mistake today, but believe me… Ladybug and Chat Noir," Hawkmoth watched the heroes from the screen. "It won't happen again."

…

Ladybug turned to Max after her normal purification time. She held out the powered off robot to Max with a smile. "Here's your friend."

"Perhaps its better if I don't," Max stated as he placed the reusable USB in his pocket. He took his best friend from Ladybug's open hands and looked at Markov sadly.

"Everyone can feel negative emotions time to time," Ladybug announced, "It's important to accept that and forgive. Follow your heart." Ladybug advised.

Max smiled at Ladybug and nodded. He powered his best friend back on and Markov spoke to Max confused. Max had to explain everything to the robot causing the heroes to laugh.

"Pound it!"

Then the two heroes ran off together before jumping to separate ways.

…

After school, Marinette made a quick detour to Master Fu.

"Are there some things you haven't told me yet?" Marinette asked the older man. Master Fu seemed confused so he prompted Marinette to explain her thoughts.

"What do you want to know?" Master Fu asked her.

"What would happen if someone had Chat Noir's ring and Ladybug's earrings, Master?" Marinette questioned the man in front of her.

"Then the bearer could use them conjointly," Fu explained. Fu delved into how the bearer could have the ultimate power to bend reality. "Basically it means that they can make any one wish come true."

"Wow, that's amazing," Marinette stated, "But why don't we use it then? We can ask for so many good things, like…" Marinette started to list all of things in her mind. Everything that could be fixed, but Master Fu interrupted her.

"The universe must always stay in balance, for every action there is a reaction, for every wish, a price to pay in return," Master Fu stated, "Had your robotic friend asked to become a real boy, someone would have lost his humanity in return."

"I hadn't thought of that," Marinette spoke glumly. The two Kwamis floated beside their respective owners.

"That's why Ladybug and Chat Noir must never lose their magic jewels," Master Fu said, "The universe's balance is at stake."

"Neither Hawkmoth or anyone else will get their hands on the miraculous," Marinette declared. She looked over to the older man and smiled, "I promise."

…

A person listened to the conversation inside the room from the corner of the door. They were hidden and they did not see who walked in. They could only hear the conversations of a familiar voice. They closed their tired eyes, wondering if their sole wish was worth the karma another person would receive. Deciding that it was not worth it, the person slipped out of the building lost in other thoughts.


	8. Night Owl (Ch8)

**And I ain't late this time! I hope everyone is doing fine during these crucial times.**

* * *

Alya and Marinette walked out of the school together. They were talking to each other about the possible things they could do. Alya offered a sleepover at her house for the day.

"Sleep over at your place tonight?" Marinette questioned, her eyes shining with excitement. "That'd be awesome-!"

"Come on hurry up, I don't have all day," the principal shouted. Mr. Damocles was holding the door open as he ushered students out of his school.

Marinette smacked her forehead with her hand before she glanced over at Alya apologetically. "Except, uh, I can't… I-I have to help my parents in the bakery."

"Again?" Alya exclaimed as she shook her head. She looked upset at the rejection to the invitation once again, "but you've been helping them all week!"

Mr. Damocles watched the two girls walk out of the school and noticed another pair of friends. The last pair of students before the school would be empty of students and other people!

"Online gaming battle?" Adrien repeated what his friend suggested. "I'm free."

"Cool," Nino said, "You should check out my enhanced weaponry, you have no chance!"

Mr. Damocles clapped his hands in front of the boys. "Come on, chop chop," the principal urged the students to hurry up and get out.

Adrien glared at the principal before he looked back towards Nino. "Argh, I forgot I have Chinese class," Adrien created an excuse. Nino looked distraught at the news.

"Again?!" He complained, "You had the same class all week!"

…

Once everyone was escorted/chased out of the school, Mr. Damocles snuck to his office.

"Albert," Mr. Damocles called out to the program he created on his computer a little while back.

"Yes, Mr. Damocles?"

"Hoot hoot!" Mr. Damocles spoke like an excited child getting candy.

"Please repeat," the program said after its face scrunched up on the computer screen. "I was unable to understand."

"Hoot hoot," Mr. Damocles repeated as he moved his arms to make a claw mark. Something he believed an owl would do.

"Please repeat," Albert stated as it made the same disgusted face. "I was unable to understand."

Mr. Damocles growled in anger as he shouted once more, "Hoot hoot!"

"Please repeat," the face on the screen scrunched up again almost in distaste rather than confusion. "I was unable to understand. Sir, please repeat," the screen started to glitch. "Please repeat… please repeat… please-"

Then the computer broke and the screen turned black. Mr. Damocles moved angrily. He walked up to the picture he hung up on his wall and had to remotely move the portrait instead of having Albert move the portrait to reveal the hidden things inside. Mr. Damocles left his computer in its broken state.

Behind the portrait there was a suit with a mask both taking the image of an owl. There were figures of a hero wearing the same suit and weapons along with it.

Mr. Damocles wore his handmade suit and smirked to no one in particular. "It is now the hour," he said to no one. He posed a pose he has posed one too many times, "of the owl! Hoot hoot!"

The new hero started to run around the city doing idiotic things. He ended up attempting to help a mother and a child with their cat in the park. The cat was stuck up high in the tree.

The man posed for the child and using his childish gadgets he accidentally hurt himself and he couldn't help the mother and her son even though he climbed up to the tree. Luckily Ladybug was there to truly save the day with Chat Noir.

"Umm, Mr. Damo- I mean, Mr. Owl," Ladybug huffed. "This is the 5th time this week we've come to your rescue." She had so much more she wanted to add, but she kept quiet.

"You're really going to get hurt one of these days," Chat Noir provided, trying to smile at the man. "At least wear a helmet."

"But you don't wear helmets," the wannabe hero stated. He came up with a rather poor excuse that caused both Parisian heroes to roll their eyes.

"Mr. Owl," Ladybug groaned, "We've told you already, it's not the same for us. We're REAL superheroes."

"With REAL superpowers," Chat Noir added, "And magic suits."

"I know," the owl confessed, "But since I was a little boy, I always dreamed about becoming a real superhero."

The two heroes shook their head in mere annoyance and dealt with the situation before they left the man to his own devices.

…

Then on the news, Nadia stated the headlines of the two superheroes inspiring other people to act like superheroes. She then questioned if being inspired to act like a hero was really a good thing to do. She mentioned how Silver Panda was different to the extent that she is a true hero. The field reporter, Clara, started to speak to the heroes on the scene.

"Today, Ladybug and Chat Noir had come to the aid of the self-proclaimed superhero, the Owl," Clara spoke as she glanced over to the heroes. She let the mic face the trio to see who would speak up.

"Thanks to the advice from my good friends, Ladybug and Chat Noir, I am certain I will do better next time," the Owl said into the mic. In the background, behind the Owl, the two heroes simultaneously slapped their hands on their foreheads in frustration. "I will be reviewing my weaponry and engaging my training because where there's injustice, there is…" the Owl pose, "The Owl!" The man then screamed owl nest and shook pepper around the people to create a fog. Then he pitifully tried to run away and disappear, but he fell and it was caught all on camera.

"Hoot hoot!" The man shouted.

"Any comments?' The reporter turned to look at Chat Noir and Ladybug.

The two heroes looked flustered at the sudden attention. Ladybug quickly recovered and stated that the man, the Owl, was a good man, but that nobody should copy him. "It's very dangerous," she stated.

"Don't try this at home, okay kids?" Chat Noir winked and gave the camera a finger gun.

The news ended with Nadia stating how everyone wonders about who the clumsiest hero in Paris was along with his true identity.

…

Ladybug and Chat Noir started to speak about how tiring it was to be there for the owl even though the principal was a good guy. Chat Noir thought of scaring his dreams away but Ladybug disagreed. She proposed making the Owl a real hero, but only for one day, one moment. And then Chat Noir and Ladybug started to think of how they could help the principal if they went with Ladybug's plans. Ladybug later claimed she had an idea.

"Don't you wonder why Silver Panda isn't appearing to rescue Mr. Damocles?" Chat Noir asked as he looked over to Ladybug. Ladybug shrugged.

"She only appears if someone is akumatized, I guess she thought we could handle him," Ladybug stated. "Which we can," she added later.

The two heroes split up with a wave, Chat Noir wishing that Ladybug's idea would work out. It ended up with Marinette staying up all night to make the props and things ready for the big day tomorrow.

…

"Sorry, my parents need me again tonight," Marinette apologized to her friend. "But," she continued as she placed a hand on Alya's shoulder casually, "For sure I'll be free tomorrow!"

"Come on, hurry up, chop chop now," Mr. Damocles said again. He wanted the kids to move faster so that he could do his more hero stuff.

"Sorry Nino, same as usual, but I should be free tomorrow," Adrien said with a smile.

…

Ladybug and Chat Noir then appeared at Alya's doorstep. Alya was shocked and awed by how the two heroes came to her willingly and she started to ask them personal questions. That's when the two heroes added the student in their plans to stop Mr. Damocles from making a fool of himself.

…

The Owl was practicing using his weapons and speaking with his faulty AI friend, Albert. He realized that his phone was ringing and quickly picked it up to hear cardboard girl had captured Ladybug and Chat Noir. He started to yell at the phone, claiming that he would save Paris's true heroes.

The Owl ran to the park at full speed and he could see the two heroes in pain along with the villain.

"Give up, Ladybug and Chat Noir," the villain laughed, "I, the evil cardboard girl has taken your miraculous!" She placed the miraculous in a cardboard box. "No one can save you now!" The girl shouted as she cackled.

"Oh no, my earrings!" Ladybug yelled as she covered her ears to prevent the Owl from seeing her real earrings.

"Oh darn," Chat Noir played along as he pulled his hand above his head. His other hand held the finger where his ring truly was. He shouted in anguish, "We're done!"

The Owl ran closer to the scene and posed. "Hoot hoot!" He shouted. He then pulled out his new and improved toy grappling hook and pointed it at the cardboard girl. "Owl talon! Hoot hoot!" He shot and the hook blasted off; however, he missed poorly and it bounced back to his face. He fell and was dragged around until he hit a trash can, embarrassing himself. Furthermore, the people in the park automatically started to take photos of him.

"Mr. Damocles!" Ladybug shouted, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" She said his name out of impulse, mainly because she forgot who he was right now and also because she truly didn't care for "the Owl".

"I am not Mr. Damocles!" The man said as he struck a pose, "I am the Owl!" Then his eyes widened in realization. He turned to look at Ladybug with tears brimming his eyes like a baby girl whose dolly was taken away. "You've revealed my secret identity!" The man said. He started to cry, unaware that he just could've kept silent and refused to be Mr. Damocles then revealing his true identity to everyone present.

"We're sorry Mr. Damo… errr, Mr. Owl, we didn't mean to," Ladybug tried to calm the crying man down.

"Don't take it the wrong way," Chat Noir added.

Mr. Damocles, now revealed, made his pathetic escape as the two heroes of Paris watched him run and trip and run again.

"Sorry it was a bust Ladybug," Alya said as she walked towards the heroes. She had her helmet under one arm, Alya then gave Ladybug the box with the fake miraculous back. "You were trying to do the right thing," Alya reassured the hero.

"Yeah," Chat Noir agreed, "now we just have to hope no one hears about it." Chat Noir rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. What a long day.

…

"We now know the true identity of the man who claims himself to be the new hero of Paris," a video played on a computer screen, "The Owl is none other than the principal of Françoise Dupont High School, Mr. Damocles."

Click.

"And this week's biggest loser is the new social network winner, Mr. Damocles!" The screen changed from the host to a video when Mr. Damocles denied his true identity and it paused after he posed. The host walked into the scene in front of the paused video and he laughed.

"Hahaah! Isn't he a hoot? Hahaha! The Owl! Ahahaha!"

Mr. Damocles paused the video and looked back at the email from the unknown address. The email contained multiple links to news and shows and channels that featured him, The Owl, being revealed as Mr. Damocles. Bitter frustration and wallowing despair continued to fill his heart; shame and pain followed by his crushed dreams. Mr. Damocles looked at his robotic friend, Albert, with a frown.

…

"Citizens of Paris, listen to me very carefully!"

Tikki motioned Marinette to move over to the TV. Marinette pushed her wheely chair and stopped in front of the TV screen to watch the sudden news.

"With just one slight movement, I can release the rope holding up the city bus where all the animals inside will crash down upon this poor helpless little kitten."

Marinette's eyes widened as she quickly recognized the figure that was threatening the city of Paris. "Tikki…" Marinette said, "I think we've got-"

…

"-a serious problem," Adrien said as he glanced over to Plagg.

"And if anyone should be tempted to save these animals, beware it is all rigged!" The villain continued to speak, "Liquid nitrogen will automatically douse the feet of the Eiffel tower and freeze the animals to -700 defrees and make it more fragile than glass! The tower will crash and the bus will flatten down and kill the kitten friend. Mrahahaha, Ladybug, Chat Noir, the only wat to save the animals is to come and give me the miraculous! You only have 10 minutes! Follow the owl signal."

Then the screen turned black.

…

"Wow, that principal sure is holding a grudge," Ladybug huffed as she spoke to her late night partner.

"Yeah, we've definitely ruffled his feathers," Chat Noir readily agreed. He pondered about mentioning the certain hero he was wondering about, before deciding to ask anyway, "Do you think Silver Panda will be joining us today?"

"I doubt it," Ladybug hummed, "She never appeared when Mr. Damocles worked as the Owl."

"Maybe because it was all fake," Chat Noir provided an answer.

"Better to act as if she won't be here," Ladybug suggested, "It would make us more cautious."

"You're right," Chat Noir nodded.

"Anyways, we've got to get a hold of that detonator and stop the countdown," Ladybug stated as the duo got closer to their destination.

"If you want," Chat Noir smiled, "I can distract him with a little chit chat."

"You're certainly the Chat for the job!" Ladybug smiled widely. She pulled out an ear piece from her bag as Chat Noir took one out of his baton. "Let's stay in touch," Ladybug smiled.

Chat Noir nodded and then hopped away first. Ladybug followed him more discreetly so she wouldn't be seen.

Chat Noir walked around the stadium where the owl signal was coming from.

"Hoot hoot! Mr. Damocles," Chat Noir greeted the akumatized villain.

"I am not Mr. Damocles!" The man shouted as the stadium lights turned on for a dramatic effect. "I am the Dark Owl!"

"Let's talk about this," Chat Noir dismissed his introduction, "Why don't we team up? The three of us, after all, you do have REAL powers now."

"Where is Ladybug?" The Dark Owl also dismissed Chat Noir's offer. He was clearly unamused. The Dark Owl was also unaware of Ladybug who was watching this scene from afar. She started to name the items that the Dark Owl had to Chat Noir.

"The akuma must be in one of those weapons," Ladybug claimed at the end of the list.

"Yeah, but which ones?' Chat Noir asked his last. He then spoke loudly and smiled, "Ladybug will be here any minute!"

"Then you can be the first to put your miraculous in the box located in the middle of the stadium or…" The Dark Owl held up the detonator. He glared at Chat Noir who raised his hands.

"Boom!" Chat Noir said, "Okay, okay, I get it." He slowly walked over to the villain gaining his full attention. "Try to grab his detonator," Chat Noir informed Ladybug when he whispered.

"I'm on it!" was the cheery reply. Then, using her yoyo, Ladybug knocked the detonator out of the Dark Owl's hand. Chat Noir grabbed it and Ladybug immediately went in a more defensive stance as she fought Dark Owl.

Ladybug was then thrown aside into Char Noir who tried to catch her but failed. The detonator was dropped and the two heroes skid a few feet away from it. The Dark Owl glanced at the timer and laughed.

"Time flies, this is your last chance to save the helpless kitten," Dark Owl laughed. Then he tossed the detonator on top of a metallic box in the middle of the stadium. The box was ignored, but it was in the background during the entire exchange.

"What's he got against cats?" Chat Noir grumbled.

"Heroes don't hurt innocent beings, Dark Owl," Ladybug warned.

"Then give me your miraculous, otherwise you will be the one to blame," The Dark Owl reasoned. "Owl talon!" He used his new weapons to tie the two heroes together. The two Parisian heroes fell after being tied together. Chat Noir grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at Ladybug causing her to glare at him. When Dark Owl swooped in with a punch, Ladybug and Chat Noir rolled off to the side. Chat Noir then used his power to break their binds.

"It's the end of the line for you!" Dark Owl shouted in victory.

Ladybug tripped Dark Owl and Chat Noir rushed for the detonator. Meanwhile, Ladybug used her lucky charm and received a fountain pen. Chat Noir glanced at the object and raised a quizzical brow.

"What are you going to do?" He asked, "Ask him to sign you an autograph?" Chat Noir then glanced back at the detonator in his hands and started to push the button multiple times, only to realize that it didn't work.

"What?!" Chat Noir shouted in disbelief.

Just then, the Dark Owl used his boomerangs to attack the confused hero and Ladybug hopped onto the metallic thing to block his attacks. Just as Ladybug deflected the attacks, Ladybug and Chat Noir heard a familiar voice.

"Get out of there! Quick!"

Someone leaped behind and over Dark Owl and reached their hands for Ladybug and Chat Noir. Silver Panda seemed a little panic stricken as she desperately tried to grab both the Parisian's hands, losing her normally calm composure.

Her hands brushed the two heroes as Chat Noir and Ladybug fell into the metallic box. Silver Panda quickly forced her body to hide behind the metallic box. She couldn't let herself get caught.

"Albert, close the hatch," Dark Owl grinned. He noticed that the other hero was there, but he would take things one at a time. "I am the guardian of Paris! I am," The Dark smiled wickedly as he gave himself a dramatic pause, "The Dark Owl! Muahahahaha!"

…

"The countdown is still running," Chat Noir hissed as he shook the detonator in his hands.

"That's impossible!" Exclaimed Ladybug. She took the detonator from Chat Noir and tried to stop it as well.

"It's not," A crackling was heard through their communicators that they didn't take out from before. Silver Panda continued to speak, "There is no detonator, there is no cat or a bus full of animals."

"What?!" Ladybug exclaimed inside.

"It's all a hologram, an illusion," Silver Panda spoke from outside. "They are all fake. I was late because I decided to check out the Eiffel Tower despite his warnings. It was too odd for a cat to sit still and not move at all, especially when it can sense danger. I apologize for getting here later than I originally thought. I had to guess where the signal came from because it disappeared as soon as I turned around and I didn't see the news in time."

It was the first time the other heroine spoke so much. Just then the heroes realized that something was appearing at their feet.

"It looks like…" Chat Noir trailed off as he poked a finger into the white stuff filling the box. "Mmm, it tastes like whip cream!"

Then the blank screen that was in the box along with a camera turned on. The screen showed the scene of the bus of animals falling. Sounds of animals were added, but they disappeared just as quickly. It was as Silver Panda had stated, it was all a hologram. The camera kept moving back and forth, darting between the heroes.

Dark Owl started to explain his plans and how he wouldn't actually hurt anyone. He asked how it felt like to lose and that he completely forgot about the third hero, claiming that he would deal with her very soon.

"This next trap though, is very real," he emphasized the word 'real', "The room you are in is filling up with whip cream as we speak! Whip cream is too thick to swim in, but too thick to float on."

"I hope its lactose free at least," Chat Noir said to ease the tension.

"I'll see if I can get you out," Silver Panda spoke slowly.

Ladybug frowned and Chat Noir nudged her side with a smile that Ladybug found hard to return.

"You win Dark Owl!" Ladybug shouted. Everyone froze at the sound of Ladybug's defeat. Ladybug walked over to Chat Noir, she leaned to his ear and whispered. "Close your eyes and no peeking. Tell me when you're ready."

"We can't do this," Chat Noir said as he glumly looked at Ladybug.

"Trust me," Ladybug pleaded a little before she turned around.

"Okay Ladybug," Silver Panda's hush whispered as transferred through their communicators. "We trust you. Anything you need me to do?"

"Find his akuma," Ladybug ordered. She then took the ink packet from her pen, noticing the whip cream's volume increasing. She squirted ink on the camera after taking a glance at where the hatch was.

"Do you really think it'll make a difference if I can't see you Ladybug? There is nowhere to escape, if you don't give me the miraculous now, I'll simply take them after the whip cream has buried you," Dark Owl rolled his eyes.

The two people inside closed their eyes tightly as the one outside started to search.

"Spots off," Ladybug went first.

"Claws in," Chat Noir followed her loyally.

Tikkia and Plagg swirled out of their respective miraculous on their respective owners. Plagg's mouth hung open and he was about to make a noise but he was hushed by Tikki. After a little while, the whip cream started to disappear.

Then the metallic box broke because of Chat Noir's cataclysm.

"But that's impossible! How did you do it?" Dark Owl sputtered.

"A superhero never reveals her secret," ladybug smirked, "I thought you knew better. I got a plan A, a plan B, and all the alphabet to z. Did you really think that we'd given you our miraculous? We are superheroes," Ladybug laughed.

"By the way," Chat Noir grinned, "Say 'hi' to Hawkmoth for us. I hope he enjoys his new toys!"

Silver Panda appeared behind the Dark Owl and took his weapons breaking each one to find nothing. The Dark Owl let out a surprised screech as Silver Panda made it back to Chat Noir and Ladybug.

"It's none of them," she reported the obvious with a frown. Ladybug clicked her tongue and Chat Noir looked on worriedly. "Who is Albert, by the way?" Silver Panda asked as she glanced at Ladybug and Chat Noir. The two French Heroes eyes widened as Silver Panda hummed in thought, "He continuously asks 'Albert' to do everything like opening up the hatch and shooting his weapons."

"It's like he has no powers on his own," Chat Noir's eyes were round and he dashed towards Dark Owl while Ladybug ran to the city.

"It's not on him," Ladybug reported, "It's in his office!"

Chat Noir jumped to the back of Dark Owl when he attempted to use his cape to fly away. Silver Panda rushed towards the two boys and grabbed Chat Noir, jerking him away from the fight to ensure his safety before continuing to run where Ladybug ran. The duo made it in the room, just in time to see the room of computers.

Silver Panda kicked Dark Owl away from Ladybug and returned Ladybug's earring to her. Ladybug's transformation stopped and her full suit returned. Dark Owl fell onto his computer, breaking it.

Ladybug caught the akuma and did her normal duties of being a hero. Ladybug and Chat Noir fist bumped again, but Silver Panda was already gone by then. Just then, Ladybug realized that she was more suspicious of the Panda more than before.

Silver Panda's miraculous was unknown and she has never used her special abilities yet.

…

"And we're happy to announce, this week's winner is once again, Paris's new superhero. The Owl!"

The Owl became a local superhero after he started to save other people through more safe ways. He got famous and even his students were proud of him. When a group of kids asked for his autograph, he smiled and gave one to each of them who commented how cool he was.

Mr. Damocles smiled, this was exactly his dream. To be someone's hero.


	9. A Foxy Hero (Ch9)

**Would you believe that? My birthday passed, lol. Either way, here is a double upload as an apology for missing last week!**

* * *

Alya and Marinette were playing with Alya's little sisters. They were twins, Ella and Etta. Marinette reassured Alya's mother how the twins would go to bed soon as Alya chased them around in circles.

"Come on, it's bedtime you little monsters," Alya picked her younger siblings up, one tucked under each of her arms as Marinette ushered her mother outside. She walked to the twin's bedroom, "That's enough mischief for one day."

"It's not us," the twins spoke in unison, "It's the Sapotis!"

Then they laughed along with Alya. Alya put the twins in their beds and tucked them in with a wide smile. She booped each of the twins' noses before smiling.

"Off to bed little Sapotis," Alya grinned, "You need to rest, if you want to be fighting fit for tomorrow!"

"It's not fair," One of the twins complained, staring at Alya intensely. "We don't want to go to bed, we want to stay up like you!"

"Yeah!" The other twin perked up, "We want to watch movies and tell each other secrets!"

Alya crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. From the corner of her eyes she saw Marinette smiling at the door frame, waiting for Alya. "And what kind of zombies will you be at the amusement park tomorrow when we go to the amusement park?" Alya questioned them. When her sisters looked confused she motioned to Marinette, "Show them Marinette."

Marinette automatically acted as a tired child yawning and complaining. A completely boring and dull experience guaranteed.

"So what's it going to be?" Alya asked, looking at the twins again. "Boring sit down pajama party with the big kids, or the super fun cool amusement park tomorrow?"

"The amusement park!" The twins threw their excited hands into the air before quickly tucking themselves once more.

"That's what I thought," Alya laughed, "So goodnight Sapotis." She reached out to grab the hats that the twins were wearing as they posed to be the Sapotis, but she was stopped by the first twin.

"Can we keep them on?" Her sister asked, looking at Alya with big puppy eyes, "Please?"

"Alright, but go to sleep now," Alya gave in to the eyes and she smiled. She waved at the twins before closing the door.

"You seriously have the technique down with your little sisters!" Marinette complimented Alya. "But, uh, who are… are the Sapa… Sapo…?"

"The Sapotis?" Alya corrected Marinette as she helped clean the messy living room. "They are monsters from a Creole fable who are always pulling pranks and making all sorts of mischief." Alya pulled up her phone, "Now that we're all alone, I can finally tell you. Apparently Ladybug has been around since the pharaohs!" But there's no way the Ladybug we know is 5000 years old, so I downloaded a great app that analyzes some recordings I had of her talking. Based on the frequencies of her voice, it turns out she's a girl our age!"

Marinette blinked in surprise, a little flustered at the new information. She struggled in an appropriate response until she noticed something behind Alya. "Oh… Uh… Alya…" Marinette pointed to the back, "The orange juice?"

Alya looked at the empty cups and sighed. She walked into the twins' rooms and cleaned up their naps with a napkin.

"It's not us, it's the Sapotis!" The twins shouted and giggled. Then they closed their eyes and Alya shook her head as she closed the door to the room. She walked over to Marinette with a smile.

"What were we saying again?" Alya asked for a reminder.

"Uh, heh," Marinette took this as a chance to change the topic, afraid that she would be found out. She smiled and pulled up a set of DVDs unaware that the first cover was of Ladybug. "We were about to watch a movie!" Alya smirked when she saw the cover and Marinette started to panic on the inside.

"Oh yeah,"Alya smiled, "Ladybug! She's like a high school girl, so to figure who she is, all we need to do is figure out a girl our age who is always late."

"Don't you think there is a good reason why her identity must be kept a secret?" Marinette asked; her eyes wide. She pushed Alya's phone down, deciding to take a more direct approach. Then the girls heard childish giggling and the melon that Marinette prepared for Alya and herself were gone.

"Alright, that's enough!" Alya shouted," Get out of bed one more time and no one will be going to the amusement park tomorrow!" Alya angrily yelled at her sisters.

It's not us!" The twins giggled, "It's the Sapotis!"

"This is your last warning," alya stated as she pointed a finger at both of the twins. "No joke." The twins nodded and laid their heads on the pillows, closing their eyes. Alya closed the door once more and walked to Marinette who went to wash the orange juice cups.

"What were you saying about her secret identity?" Alya asked.

"Ladybug needs it to protect her family and friends, otherwise the villain can use them to get to her," Marinette explained. She had to be direct with Alya, there was no other way to get the message through to her friend.

Just then, they heard some giggling and Alya ran to the living room. Marinette quickly finished up and walked with Alya to the source of the noise. There, they found the twins sitting in front of the TV about to play an episode of their favorite TV show. Alya growled at them and they found it funny like all little children.

"It's not us!" The twins began their chant, "It's the-!" The twins gasped when they were roughly picked up.

"That's it," Alya stated.

"Come on Alya," the twins complained, "We won't do it again!"

"Yeah, well it's too late," Alya frowned as she put them in their bed. She took their hats and placed it on the bed table. "We'll all go to the park when you can behave some other day, now go to sleep," Alya commanded sternly. She then walked out and closed the door, uncaring about how the children were tearing up.

The twins snuck up and grabbed one hat, they started to argue about who the hat belonged to unknowing of a butterfly fluttering in.

…

Alya and Marinette mainly joked with each other and they started to talk about how trustworthy they would be to each other, revealing any and all secrets. Then they playfully accused each other of being Ladybug before laughing together. Then they heard loud giggling in the twins' room.

Alya rolled her eyes and stood up. When she opened the door she was surprised to see actual Sapotis.

"Sapotis?!" Alya exclaimed. The two monsters turned to Alya and grinned before they escaped the room.

"Maybe you were a little too strict with them!" Marinette screeched as she watched the two eat the food on the counter. Marinette screamed when she saw the twins multiply and more monsters appeared.

"Normally when you are firm with kids, they don't turn into monsters," Alya defended herself as the critters continued to multiply and cause chaos in the house. Marinette stated the obvious of how they multiplied after they ate.

"Window!" The Sapotis shouted, as they noticed the gigantic window open.

"Marinette, the window!" Alya noticed that they were trying to run away. "We can't let them out!"

Marinette was too late because the multiplied monsters headed out to the city of Paris in the dark. Alya and Marinette were left in the home trying to fight off the remaining Sapotis in the house. Alya told Marinette to stay put and that she would stop her own sisters as she rushed out of the house.

Marinette used Alya's absence as a chance to transform into Ladybug. Marinette quickly called out to her Kwami and joined Alya as Ladybug in the battlefield against multiple Sapotis at night. Ladybug found the fight difficult because of how the Sapotis wouldn't stop multiplying.

Soon Chat Noir joined the battle.

"Just in time kitty," Ladybug hummed as she broke the hat of the sapotis they just spooked together.

"How'd you know to destroy the monster's hat?" Chat Noir asked her lady. As he did the same with another Sapotis.

"I, uh…" Ladybug became a little stiff before she smiled, "Trial and error."

"But no akuma's been released," Chat Noir stated the obvious. He took note of how the Sapotis disappeared when the hat broke which proved Ladybug to be right.

"No, because that was a clone," Ladybug stated. "These Sapotis multiply every time they eat. To get to the akuma, we'll have to destroy the original one, the very first one Hawkmoth akumatized," Ladybug's shoulders sagged a little.

"So you mean," Chat Noir threw his hands, "we 'gotta catch them all'."

"Come on, I thought you liked a good challenge," Ladybug teased.

Chat Noir's response was hanging his head and sighing. The duo of superheroes then started to work together, but there were too many. They even multiplied more after they ate all of Andre's ice cream.

"Hey!" Chat Noir shouted as Ladybug followed him, "Don't eat that ice cream or things will get catastrophic!"

Then the Sapotis herd started to circle around Ladybug and Chat Noir. There were just too many of them.

"We won't be able to destroy all their hats," Chat Noir shouted, "There's too many of them!" The heroes felt cold sweat run down their backs when they realized they were surrounded.

"Miraculous," the little monsters said in unison. It was Kind of creepy, Ladybug noted.

Just then, about half of the hats were swooped away from the heads from the Sapotis and spinning blocks of wood broke them all. Silver Panda had placed a good kick and managed to make it strong enough for the wind to knock the hats up into the air.

"Need any help?"

Ladybug frowned as per usual, but Chat Noir hummed in thanks. Ladybug was still a little unbelieving, unwilling to acknowledge Silver Panda; however she reluctantly agreed, there were just too many of the SApotis to take out with just Chat Noir and herself.

"Protect me," Ladybug ordered. Immediately, the other two heroes took on a formation that defended Ladybug from getting injured, Silver Panda following Chat Noir's movements to keep them in sync. "Lucky charm!"

Ladybug blinked as she realized she received a teapot.

"A teapot?" Chat Noir questioned as he took a quizzical look at the spotted item.

"It's strangely familiar," Ladybug responded as she examined it.

Silver Panda took one look at the pot and then diverted her attention back to the Sapotis, protecting the heroes as much as she could.

"It's weird," Ladybug took a quick glimpse around the scenario, "I can't find anything." Just then, an idea clicked in Ladybug's head as she happily spoke to Chat Noir, her voice losing its joy as she also addressed Silver Panda. "Of course, I know who can help, gotta go!"

"Right now?" Chat Noir asked as he got rid of another Sapotis.

"Yes, right now," Ladybug smiled, "You can trust me Chat Noir."

"Go on, Milady!" Chat Noir sighed as he glanced at Silver Panda who smiled. "We'll hold fort here."

…

"Marinette knocked at Master Fu's door.

"It's open," was the reply.

Marinette peeked through the door and greeted Master Fu before she walked in and closed the door.

"Master Fu," Marinette trailed off before she began her explanation. She started to speak to Master Fu about her lucky charm and how she thought it was hinting she should visit him. Master Fu then spoke about how he taught Marinette a lot about the miraculous and how Marinette knows they work in mysterious ways.

"I think it's telling us that you need help this time," Fu stated. He walked over to where he kept the miraculous hidden and stopped, uncertain. "I don't know if it's safe. I already took an enormous risk by taking two miraculous into circulation."

"And you were right to do it," Marinette insisted, "Chat Noir and I are very careful."

Fu smiled warmly at the girl. She had grown in such a short time, he mused.

"I was already persuaded by one and now I am being persuaded by another," Fu laughed as he took out the hidden miraculous box. "I must be getting old." He put the box in front of Marinette. "Marinette," Fu hummed, "Pick an ally you can trust to fight alongside you in this mission."

"Wow," Marinette's eyes widened. She couldn't help but be amazed at the sight of the many miraculous. She was more shocked to realize that there were less empty slots than last time. She looked up to Master Fu in confusion.

"I had them returned earlier today," Fu replied at her questioning look, "Now we are only missing a few miraculous. Choose wisely," Fu advised. "Such powers are meant to be used for the greater good, they must never fall into the wrong hands."

"Like Hawkmoth," Marinette stated.

"Yes," Fu nodded once in agreement. "Once the mission is over, you must retrieve the miraculous from them and bring it back to me," Fu stated, "Until we unlock all the secrets from the spell book, it's too dangerous to have any more miraculous out in the open for very long."

Marinette sighed as she thought hard.

"Is there anyone you can think of Marinette?"

Marinette reached for the bee miraculous at first, but then snatched her hand back like the stinger of the bee pierced her skin. Marinette picked up one of the miraculous that wasn't there previously. The fox miraculous. It brought her bad memories, but if the power was the same as the fake then it would be the most useful. She looked at Fu with eyes full of determination.

"Yes master, I trust the right person," Marinette smiled.

…

"Listen," Alya said as she wove her hands at the Sapotis on the Merry-go-round. "we can renegotiate the amusement park idea, but first I need you to chill out and come with me."

Just then, Ladybug appeared and got rid of all the clones in front of the worn out Alya. She turned to Alya with a smile on her face and Alya found herself trying to explain the situation to the hero, unaware that Ladybug was already aware of the situation.

"Ladybug!" Alya shouted in a panic stricken state, "My sisters' have been akumatized! I need to find them and bring them back home."

"There's a way to bring back your sisters, but we're going to need your help. You interested?' Ladybug offered a choice.

"Me?!" Alya repeated in shock. Her mouth broke into a grin, "Help the superheroes? You bet I am." Alya took out her phone to text Marinette, "Just wait 'til I tell Marinette about this!"

Ladybug smiled at the loyalty Alya had for her best friend, but she quickly moved to stop the girl from sending out any messages.

"Hold on, this needs to be a secret," Ladybug stated, "Not a word to your friends or on the Ladyblog."

"Oh right," Alya put her phone away. "Understood."

"Alya Césaire," Ladybug said. She pulled out the miraculous box with the fox miraculous. "Here is the miraculous of the fox which grants the power of illusion. You will use it for the greater good." Alya looked excited and awestruck as Ladybug spoke. She firmly nodded and took the box delicately with both hands, honored. "Once the job is done, you will return the miraculous to me. Can I trust you?"

Alya nodded again," Totally, Ladybug."

Ladybug nodded and Alya opened her box. A bright light appeared and swirled about.

"What is that thing?!" Alya exclaimed in shock. The light then revealed itself to be a small fox-like creature floating beside Ladybug.

"I am not a thing," it said, "My name is Trixx, and I'm your Kwami!"

"My Kwami?" Alya asked as she got a better view of the floating fox. "I know you're what gives superheroes their superpowers right?"

Trixx looked at Ladybug with an impressed look, "Not bad."

"She's an expert," Ladybug smiled as Trixx swirled around Alya with a nod.

"By the way, how old are you?" Alya asked Ladybug. "Do you have any idea about Chat Noir's true identity? There's no way- I-"

Ladybug was taken back, but she quickly composed herself and spoke up, "Stay focused, Alya."

"Sorry," Alya blushed as she put the necklace on.

"Ready to become a superhero?" Ladybug asked as she put a hand on Alya's shoulder. Alya nodded.

"You just need to say one thing," Trixx supplied, "Trixx let's pounce!"

"Trixx! Let's pounce!" Alya repeated. She transformed into the fox miraculous holder, her suit resembling a fox. She checked herself out ecstatically. "This is awesome!" The new hero squealed as she checked herself out. "But I look like Lila when she was akumatized in this suit," she let out a small complaint.

"Yes, but the superhero version," was the reply from Ladybug. "Come on, I'll explain the rest to you on the way," Ladybug stated as she used her yoyo to escape. Alya jumped and let out a happy yell as she ran across the roof with Ladybug.

"Wow," Alya exclaimed, "This is so cool!"

"Mission first," Ladybug reminded.

The two heroines continued to run on the rooftops, hurrying to get back to Silver Panda and Chat Noir.

…

"Chat Noir, behind you!"

Chat Noir hopped to the side and narrowly dodged a Sapotis aiming for his ring. Silver Panda came back with a quick warning. Her blocks were linked again to form her nunchucks as she skillfully knocked the Sapotis out with martial art skills and her weapon. The Sapotis were uneasy with the other hero because they were unsure of what her miraculous was.

"Thanks Silver Panda," Chat Noir thanked.

Silver Panda grinned as she noticed a yoyo coming towards the duo.

"Chat Noir, she's back," Silver Panda motioned to the two figures that were coming to her. There was a new fox hero with them, Silver Panda mused.

The new hero was fighting with her flute, hitting anyone coming her way. Just then, Silver Panda heard something suspicious.

"This is so insane!" The fox hero exclaimed as she squealed, "I got superpowers and I'm fighting super villains!"

Silver Panda's eyes narrowed slightly, her silver eyes glowering in a warning. Her suspicions rose when she noticed that Chat Noir didn't recognize the hero either. Still, she bowed to greet the new hero joining them on the battlefield.

"Woah, who is this superhero friend of yours?" Chat Noir asked with a shake of his eyebrows, "No offense, but I thought I was the only one other than Silver Panda here and she only joined us pretty recently."

"Chat Noir," Ladybug smiled, "Silver Panda… I would like you to meet," Ladybug faltered as she motioned to the new hero. Silver Panda raised an eyebrow, her suspicions confirmed, but she kept silent. A completely new hero pulled to the middle of battle…

"Rena Rogue!" The fox hero recovered quickly, "yeah, my name is Rena Rogue."

"Well sneaky fox," Chat Noir smirked, "Think you will be as sneaky as a cat?"

Rena Rogue smirked, "I don't know, should we take bets?" She bent over to Chat Noir and rung his bell with a finger.

"Your friend is pretty good," Chat Noir complimented.

"I surround myself with only the best," Ladybug hummed.

"But you can't deal with me?" Silver Panda let out a huff of amusement, "Maybe they must be weaker than you for your acceptance, Ladybug?"

The comment irked Ladybug. It seemed to surprise the other heroes present as well. She glared at Silver Panda, "I can't say we're friends yet, we didn't spend enough time together."

Silver Panda thought about calling Ladybug out to her lies since Rena Rogue just became a hero, but she decided against it. Instead, she decided to bond with the new hero to gain her favor, joking and talking about how she and Chat Noir made the perfect couple.

Ladybug quickly ordered the heroes to escape the mob of Sapotis before they were in a vulnerable position. They quickly hopped to a roof and started to take a look over the roof.

"There must be thousands of them," Chat Noir commented.

"I agree," Silver Panda hummed, "It is a dangerous night tonight in Paris."

Ladybug used her powers to get a unicycle. She started to look around for ideas and started to get a good understanding of what the team should do.

"Silver Panda, round all of the Sapotis together. Chat Noir, help Rena Rogue and me get to the other side," Ladybug ordered. The two heroes followed her decisions immediately. Silver Panda jumped off the roof with expertise and started to round up all the Sapotis while getting rid of any that weren't listening.

Ladybug gathered the needed supplies and put them in a mobile trash bin she picked up. Rena Rogue then started to name everything Ladybug had.

"Do you always make it this complicated when you're saving Paris?" Rena Rogue asked Ladybug.

"Trust me Rena Rogue," Ladybug replied.

Chat Noir used his stick to create a thin bridge which Ladybug and Rena Rogue nimbly used to reach a different roof. Chat Noir followed right after and shortened his stick once they got to the other side. Ladybug explained her plan to Rena Rogue as she hopped onto a bicycle with a wagon behind her. She used the traffic cone as a voice modificator so that all the Sapotis could hear her along with the ones hiding. Silver Panda hitched a ride in the back and smiled warmly at Ladybug. Ladybug only nodded stiffly.

"Here yee, here yee!" Ladybug shouted. She started to talk about a Sapotis land and persuaded the Sapotis to gather in one place by going through a small, tight ally. Ladybug motioned the Sapotis to go in the small tunnel one by one and they listened to her.

Meanwhile Silver Panda jumped to the building where Chat Noir and Rena Rogue were at, scaling the building easily.

"Alright, it's time to use your power," Chat Noir smiled.

"I… I've never tried it," Rena Rogue frowned. She took a glance at the flute in her hands.

Silver Panda nodded, her guess was more than right at this point. Silver Panda placed a hand on Rena Rogue's flute.

"You have the power of illusion," Silver Panda stated, "When you play your flute, you can create one illusion. Imagine an illusion deep in your mind and then create it somewhere, somewhere you want it to be. I promise you will do great."

"I hope it works," Rena Rogue mumbled as she envisioned a carnival.

"Stay focused," Chat Noir added.

"Mirage!" Rena Rogue shouted. Suddenly a large carnival appeared and she spoke breathtakingly at her own powers, "Awesome…"

Then a loud beeping was heard and she noticed her necklace flashing.

"My necklace is beeping, that means I'm going to transform soon right?"

"Yeah, but it's okay if I see it," Chat Noir grinned.

"Naught kitty," Rena Rogue smirked, "You know very well that our identities must be kept a secret."

"Good job, you're a fast learner," Chat Noir complimented.

"If you need any superhero tips, you know where to come," Rena Rogue teased.

Silver Panda just smiled at their exchange and then glanced at the crowd coming. "Get ready," she said.

The trio of heroes quickly got ready and started to gather the hats of the remaining Sapotis. Chat Noir destroyed the trash bin along with hats inside, his power luckily destroying all the hats inside. Ladybug did her normal saying and in the meantime Silver Panda headed out.

Chat Noir touched Silver Panda for a bit. She turned around, her braid pressed against her body. Her silver eyes widened and they twinkled like the stars before she smiled at him and disappeared before the blonde hero could speak.

Chat Noir stared as he wondered if he imagined the sad twinkle in her eyes before he shook his head and decided to focus on the other two heroines.

"Pound it," the three heroes of Paris cried in unison as their fists collided. Rena Rogue and Ladybug escaped together and Chat Noir took the kids back to their home.

…

Rena Rogue returned as Alya.

"That was unreal!" Alya squealed.

"You've really helped us a lot, thank you Alya," Ladybug said as she reached out a hand asking for the miraculous.

Alya looked at the outstretched hand and covered the necklace on her chest. "You know if I hold onto it, I can help you again."

"You made a promise," Ladybug reminded, reaching her hand out further.

"Oh please, Ladybug?" Alya pleaded, "We can make a great team! I can help you and Chat Noir every day!"

Ladybug heard her earrings beep and she reached out her hand again, this time more firmly. "I'm about to transform back, hurry!"

Alya turned her body away from Ladybug, her hands still clasped over the necklace, "Please?"

Ladybug sighed as she made a rushed exit into the building the two were in front of. "I have to go, I'm trusting you." Ladybug then closed the door.

Alya looked down at her necklace with wide eyes.

"You're absolutely right, Alya," Trixx spoke after watching the exchange quietly. "I'm sure the three of you would make quite the team. You have all the makings of a true superhero." Trixx continued to compliment Alya with a sly grin, Alya looked at her Kwami with sparkling eyes. "You're strong, brave, but most of all…" The Kwami's eyes glistened as he guilt tripped the girl in front of him. "You are trustworthy."

The light broke in Alya's eyes as she guiltily looked at her necklace. It wasn't even hers…

Behind the door, Ladybug transformed back into Marinette. The door opened and Marinette watched the miraculous box being pushed inside. Alya gave it back after all. She smiled at Tikki and giggled.

…

"You made the right choice, Marinette," Fu said, "Thanks to you, Paris has been saved from evil yet again."

Marinette smiled at Fu.

…

Marinette rang the doorbell to ALya's house rapidly. She pretended to be tired, as if she chased the Sapotis rapidly.

"Marinette, are you okay?" Alya asked her best friend.

"I've tried calling you tons of times, why weren't you answering?" Marinette asked her friend, as she feigned ignorance.

Alya then dragged Marinette closer to her by the shoulders.

"Wait 'til you hear something crazy happened to me!" Alya said as she excitedly flailed her arms.

"Really?" Marinette pretended to be unknowing, "What happened?"

"I-!" Alya then paused. She pulled her hand back away from Marinette as she lied, "Well, my battery died." She laughed nervously, "Can you believe it? My brand new phone is a super let down, huh?"

Marinette smiled as she placed a hand on her chest to show how reassured she was. Alya is trustworthy of course. She was truly relieved about how she could trust Alya not to say anything about the heroes. She stretched her arms out for a hug which Alya took graciously.

"Ditto," Alya said.

Marinette then teased her best friend about the new hero that appeared tonight and didn't specify anyone. Alya started to ask Marinette about what he new hero was like excitedly, causing Marinette to laugh.


	10. Runaway Adrien (Ch10)

**Second Upload!**

* * *

"Father…" Adrien looked at his father. He walked into Gabriel's room and shifted his ring around nervously. "There's something I would like to talk to you about… Can I have a few moments of your time?"

Gabriel was currently busy with his job. He was scrolling through designs on his computer, looking for the next line of designs he would use. He responded dully without taking his eyes off of his job.

"Yes, of course."

"Uh? Really?!" Adrien perked up with excitement. He looked up to his father, eyes full of hope. But before he could get too excited, his father continued to speak.

"I'll tell Natalie to let you know as soon as I'm available," Gabriel said calmly.

Adrien's smile fell off his face and his shoulders sagged in disappointment. He spoke dejectedly, "It'll be too late then…" His voice trailed off as he stared at the floor.

"Shouldn't you be practicing the piano?" Gabriel asked as his eyes moved up to his son. He realized that Adrien was shifting the ring on his finger, a possible nervous tic Adrien picked up.

"Yes," Adrien muttered. He walked out slowly with his head held down.

Once his son was out of sight, Gabriel felt his brows furrowing together as he realized something incriminating. He took the time to compare the photo of Adrien's ring and Chat Noir's ring. He couldn't help but notice their stunning similarities.

"That's impossible!" Gabriel growled. He slammed the door open and walked up the stairs to his son's room. He could hear the beautiful piano music, but had no time to take it in. He pushed Adrien's bodyguard aside and opened the door only to find the speakers in the room blasting piano music and the window was wide open. Gabriel growled lowly.

"Natalie! Where is my son?!" Gabriel shouted, "Adrien has managed to leave this room." Gabriel stated the obvious and pointed out the bodyguard and Natalie, "Without either of you noticing! Find him!" Gabriel ordered. He needed to check that his son wasn't Chat Noir.

…

"Radiant. Carefree. Dreamy. Adrien… the fragrance."

Marinette watched the same commercial over and over again. It was a recent commercial and it had enough of an impact for Marinette to enjoy it. Since Marinette was so focused on the advertisement, Tikki had to feed Marinette her breakfast yogurt. Tikki didn't mind though, she found her owner funny.

…

Paris was filled with posters of Adrien. The posters had his face plastered everywhere and it caused him to become extremely famous. Adrien didn't really like the publicity because he gained too many fans alongside many people who attempted to stalk him or follow him.

"Adrien?!" A boy shouted in shock. Adrien turned to spot a boy who wore similar clothes to Adrien. The boy then screamed, "The Adrien Agreste?! This is so awesome!"

Adrien smiled uncomfortable and wove his hand at the boy who was obviously extremely ecstatic about Adrien's appearance. He then turned around.

"Okay, bye," Adrien said without trying to be rude. Sadly, the boy started to follow Adrien.

"First time I saw you in that ad, I told myself: Liam, I got to meet this guy!" The boy, now identified as Liam continued to speak. "He's so cool! What if I was like, your biggest fan?"

"Yeah, sure," Adrien muttered. Just then, Liam took a photo of himself along with Adrien. The excited brunette quickly posted the picture in his social media and grinned.

"Don't post it up on-!" Adrien shouted in shock. He quickly reached out to the boy to stop him from making everyone else aware of his location. "The internet…" Adrien then sighed before his panic kicked in. He tried to run away from the boy, but Liam wouldn't stop chasing him. He kept asking Adrien for signatures and what not. Then Adrien spotted his bodyguard's car. He had to hurry.

"Some other time," Adrien offered the boy. He then turned the other way and ran as fast as he could, "I've got to get going."

"No wait!" The boy shouted, "Adrien!"

"Adrien?!"

The people of Paris started to turn towards the sound and spotted Adrien running. Adrien quickly found himself in a big mess, kids and adults alike were starting to chase Adrien down for autographs and pictures. Adrien silently cursed the new advertisement as he sprinted around Paris. Adrien normally wouldn't mind how the people of Paris wanted to know him personally, but not when Paris currently looked like the city of Adrien Agreste!

Adrien made a sharp turn to lose everyone. He ran into Marinette when he turned the corner.

"Marinette!"

"Adrien?"

"You live near here," Adrien quickly spoke, eager to hide. "Can I hide out at your place, please?"

"Umm," Marinette spoke embarrassed and surprised, "At my place? Right now? UH, what's going on?"

"Adrien!"

The voices of his hunters were around the corner. The crowd could be heard, their footsteps and eager shouts.

"Too late," Adrien spoke dejectedly. They noticed the crowd continue going straight until someone noticed the two standing there, dumbstruck. Then they started to chase after Adrien and Marinette froze at the terrifying sight. She glanced at Adrien and quickly took his hand.

"Come with me!" Marinette shouted.

Fortunately, Adrien followed Marinette with no questions or persuasion. They ran into the park and hid in the empty fountain. The crowd's rumbling and shouts were terrifying for sure, Marinette noted. They smiled at each other when the crowd left.

"Thank you for saving me," Adrien smiled, "People are going crazy over this ad."

"You started an ad?" Marinette feigned ignorance, "I had no idea, ehhe… That's awesome!"

"I don't know about that," Adrien smiled awkwardly. He then noticed what Marinette was wearing and felt his cheeks light up a little. Marinette was still a girl after all. He spoke with his emerald eyes wide, "Embarrassing…?"

Marinette covered herself with her hands and squealed. Adrien smiled warmly at her.

"All good now!" Marinette fumbled. "I better get going," she stated as she stood up. Adrien sat up and flashed Marinette a smile. Just then, Adrien noticed the familiar silver car and he hugged Marinette's arm tightly.

"Isn't that…" Marinette trailed off as she stared at the noticeable silver car. "Your bodyguard?"

"Actually, I snuck out," Adrien confessed, "without permission? I'm supposed to be at home right now…"

Click.

Adrien and Marinette turned to see a park worker on his phone typing out loud.

"Adrien and his girlfriend in the fountain," the man hummed.

Adrien and Marinette tensed up and got prepared to run. As they started to run out of the park they ran into Lee who was holding his phone. He didn't fall, but Adrien and Marinette did. HE raised an eyebrow at the nervous duo and tucked his phone away. Without questions, he pulled both Marinette and Adrien up and held their wrists tightly. Lee then ran towards the city at a quick speed and the two Parisians had a difficult time catching up.

"Follow me," Lee spoke softly.

Marinette swore that she would've missed his voice if she wasn't focused on him right now. The trio could easily hear the roaring of the large crowd getting louder behind them. Lee led Marinette and Adrien to the city.

"Lee?" Marinette questioned the transfer student. Adrien grumbled a little, but he did not stop running. Lee released his grip on his classmates and slipped into a tight alleyway. Marinette and Adrien stared at the alleyway in shock. Lee was quick and fit inside as if he was a worm slipping into a large hole. After a little while, Lee's head popper back out of the alleyway. He was frowning.

"Hurry up," Lee stated.

"What?" Adrien stared at the quirky Asian. Lee then disappeared into the alley. It was so tight it honestly looked like a crack. Marinette and Adrien exchanged glances. The crowd of new Adrien fanatics could be heard and they decided that it would be better to follow Lee. They slipped into the alley that Lee disappeared into.

Past the alleyway, a small clearing was revealed. It was a little dirty, but neither Marinette nor Adrien minded. It was quite tight for the three students though. IN the small clearing there were many other alleyways attached.

"What took so long?" Lee asked with a tight frown.

"Umm," Marinette tried to grasp an excuse from thin air. Lee's eyes narrowed and then closed. He shook his head, his braided hair swaying ever so slowly and his full eyes were filled with disappointment.

"Just follow me," Lee ordered as he moved through another alleyway. The duo followed Lee's orders and followed him closely. It would be easy to get lost in such alleys after all. Marinette was quite surprised about how Lee would easily navigate through the backroads of Paris.

After many turns and a little more walking, the trio arrived at a small opening. It was much cleaner than the other clearings and looked like a hidden home somehow. There was a large piece of cloth tied to the pipes available creating a small roof for half of the clearing. Under the roof like cloth there was a large suitcase and a duffel bag. A small blanket was neatly folded on top of the travelling bag as well.

"Welcome," Lee hummed, "We can hide out here for a while."

"Where is here?" Marinette asked cautiously. Adrien stared at the pristine boy with large eyes.

"My cozy hideout," Lee responded with a deadpan face. "I bathe regularly and I'll even rent out a room in the hotel sometimes." His golden eyes dared Marinette and Adrien to speak up to him. "I don't really care what you think. I cleaned this place up and it's actually habitable. It doesn't stink and on rainy days, I go to the hotel. I have my own sense of survival."

Marinette shared a worried look with Adrien. Lee raised half his hand, his golden eyes daunting. He was slouched, leaning on a wall.

"Don't tell anyone," Lee stared at his classmates, "I led you here to save you, and you owe me that much privacy. Plus, I don't need your pity." Lee sneered a little at the end. He didn't seem afraid of ruining his white clothes. Marinette then noticed that his clothes weren't dirty which meant that he probably cleaned up the walls as well.

Adrien frowned at the scenario. Sure he didn't like Lee, but it was a little too humble. He started to wonder whether or not he should stay in such a cramped place until he realized his goal for the day. He looked at Marinette and Lee, as much as he would hate to bring Lee along, the boy's survival instincts were definitely commendable.

"Can you guys help me go somewhere?" Adrien spoke through gritted teeth.

"Sure," Lee hummed. He placed the folded blanket on the duffel bag and opened up his suitcase. Everything inside was nice and tidy. Lee pulled out new clothes and handed a set to Marinette along with a set to Adrien.

"They might be a little too small for Adrien or a bit big for Marinette, but it should be okay," Lee said. He then motioned the two to go get changed, "Take 'em, put them on, and let's go."

…

The trio made it to the movie theaters, one that Adrien wished to go to. It wasn't difficult taking the train with Lee's intense glares at anyone who stared at the trio. Lee didn't change out of his clothes but Adrien and Marinette looked different for sure.

Adrien was wearing a hat and a pair of sunglasses. Lee lent Adrien a white tee shirt with floral patterns. The floral patterns were different from Lee's but both shirts had the same kind of flower on them. Marinette noted that the flowers on the shirts were also the flowers on Marinette's gift from her birthday. It seemed as if Lee was very found with the flower.

Marinette had her hair down and wore a different set of clothes. Lee lent Marinette a blue shirt (with floral patterns) and white pants. Lee had made quick adjustments to the clothes that were lent to ensure a fine fit (if not perfect) before they left.

The trio was in the movie theater, waiting for the movie that Adrien picked out to start. Suddenly, Adrien's new commercial started to play. Adrien noticed Lee smirking and glared at him. Lee turned to look at Adrien with a slightly mocking look causing the blonde to growl. The two boys stopped their fight when they heard Marinette's voice.

"Radiant, carefree, dreamy…. Adrien," Marinette sighed, "The fragrance." Adrien's face reflected his shock while Lee's eyes glinted in amusement. Marinette flushed and Adrien attempted to cheer her up, but they both froze when they heard unfamiliar chuckling. They turned and saw Lee covering up his mouth, a smirk behind his hands.

"The movie is starting," Lee hummed.

Before the trio could watch the movie, the audience noticed who Adrien was. Lee clicked his tongue and led his classmates out of the theater. The trio then hitched a ride back to Paris, switching their clothes along the way. Adrien swapped into an astronaut helmet Marinette carried around just in case and gave the sunglasses and cap back to Lee. Lee casually wore the cap and clipped the sunglasses to his collar. When the trio made it out of the subway, a blue gorilla captured Adrien.

Adrien's helmet fell off and Lee noticed it landed in the hands of a brunette Adrien fan. He didn't pay much mind to it and looked for Marinette. Marinette already ran off and Lee was worried for her. Still he shrugged and walked away, trying to ignore how Marinette was running to danger along with the brunette boy.

…

Adrien was on top of the highest building in Paris, other than the Eiffel Tower. Ladybug appeared almost instantly and started to attack the blue gorilla. Ladybug soon freed Adrien, but he was falling down the sky at a fast pace. Adrien closed his eyes as the ground came closer. Plagg tried to convince him to transform but he refused.

"I trust her," Adrien smiled at Plagg.

Just then a pair of hands grabbed him. Adrien's eyes fluttered open and he saw Ladybug holding a hand around his waist, carefully bringing him back down to the ground. He grinned at Ladybug with rosy cheeks and looked up. Silver Panda had arrived to set Ladybug free.

Adrien then ran off to hide after a lingering hug with Ladybug. He hid inside of a building and noticed Liam from the morning. Adrien thought for a while, small guilt clawing his heart. He could use Liam.

…

"Are you sure he will come, Ladybug?" Silver Panda asked lightly as she ran alongside the other heroine.

"Yes," Ladybug rolled her eyes, "I trust Chat Noir." She bit her lips after, it was another terrible day teaming up with Silver Panda, but she didn't say anything aloud. Instead she just took it in. Thanks to Silver Panda, Adrien wasn't leaving the earth today. Ladybug then repeated the plan to her intercom, motioning Silver Panda to follow her.

The two heroines waited underground and jumped back when they noticed the ceiling starting to crack. Half of the giant blue gorilla came crashing down. Ladybug then received a call.

"This is Chat Noir Deliveries, did you order a giant beast milady?"

"I knew I could count on you!" Ladybug's mouth split into a gigantic smile. She and Silver Panda checked the pockets of the villain. Ladybug found the item, the lucky charm she gave Adrien, and she broke it. She escaped the underground along with Silver Panda.

"Where's Adrien?" Silver Panda asked Chat Noir.

"He's safe," Chat Noir smiled at the heroines. Ladybug nodded and broke the charm. The akuma appeared and started to fly up. Ladybug then did what she normally does and set everything in Paris right.

"Pound it!" The two heroes shouted. Their fists collided and Ladybug found herself smiling. As per usual, Silver Panda was already gone at this time.

"Adrien!" Ladybug smiled when she noticed the boy a little far off from her. "Are you alright?" She made moves to get closer to her secret crush, but Chat Noir quickly blocked her way.

"He's fine," Chat Noir smiled, raising his hands, "See?" Adrien then wove his hands widely and gave the heroes thumbs up. "If I were you, I wouldn't hang around too long. Unless you don't mind revealing your secret identity to all of us," Chat Noir smiled as he pointed out the time Ladybug had remaining. Ladybug flinched when she heard the beeping and yelled as she wove her hand widely.

"Bye Adrien!" Then in a lower tone, Ladybug added, "Bye kitty. Bug out!"

"Gotta scat too," Chat Noir saluted Adrien, "Thanks Adrien!"

The Adrien with the helmet ran to a building and found the real Adrien inside. He took off the cardboard picture of Adrien out of the helmet and smiled widely. The Adrien, revealed as Liam, squealed.

"I knew I could count on you," Adrien grinned at the excited fan, "Sorry I asked you to stand in for me earlier. You must think I'm not very brave." He rubbed his arm shyly, his green eyes resembling a sad puppy.

"You kidding?" Liam smirked, "I got to be in Adrien's shoes for a minute, a dream come true! I'm really sorry I posted that photo on the internet. You must be mad at me." Liam looked apologetic and sad himself. He looked up when he heard scribbling and noticed that Adrien wrote on the cardboard head piece of himself: adrien .

"Is," Liam's eyes grew, "that your email?"

"Yeah," Adrien agreed," if you can manage to stop running after me screaming, I'm sure we can be great friends."

Liam nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes Adrien!"

…

When Adrien opened the door to his room, he was scared to see his father waiting for him. He was unsure whether or not to approach the man, but Gabriel spoke first.

"Sit down Adrien," Gabriel commanded. Adrien lumbered over. He was nervous because it was certain that he would be yelled at. So it surprised him when his father turned on the TV in his room to play a movie… a movie that only his father had the DVD of.

"You should've talked to me," Gabriel spoke, his eyes trained on the screen.

"I'm sorry father, I tried to, but you were always busy," Adrien meekly made up an excuse. It was the truth, but he knew that his father would interpret it as an excuse, a weak excuse. "I always feel like you don't want to talk at all so-"

"You should've trusted me son," Gabriel cut his son's words. "It's important for you and I to trust each other. If you began to hide the truth from me," Gabriel paused and took time to look at the white ring on his son's finger. He placed his hand over the ring and looked up into Adrien's emerald green eyes that reminded him so much of his wife. "Then I naturally start to imagine all kinds of things."

"Right father," Adrien smiled, "Thank you."

Then the father and the son continued to watch the movie starring the mother.


	11. Luka's Hello (Ch11)

**One on time XD I am so behind with the rest of the chapters :'D**

* * *

"Oops! Sorry Mylène," Marinette excused herself as she dodged Mylène's body. Marinette was holding a box filled with random things inside. Sadly, dodging Mylène didn't stop Marinette from bumping into Rose who held a microphone stand. Rose fell and she lost the grip on her mic. Marinette caught the mic and handed it to Rose when Rose got back up. "I think this is yours, Rose."

"Thanks Marinette," Rose smiled. She took the microphone graciously and smiled with wide eyes, "Did you realize it's our very first concert! It's going to be awesome!" Rose cried into the microphone causing an ear splitting screech from the microphone that was plugged into the speakers on the boat, Juleka's home, to be more exact.

Marinette smiled at Rose after wincing and carried on with the box in her hand to clean the ship up. She saw Alya and walked up to her best friend who was holding a ladder steady. Her shoulders were a little sagged and it caused Alya to speak to her.

"Don't worry girl," Alya placed her free hand on Marinette's back. "The gig hasn't started yet."

"What if he got the wrong address? Or he's lost? Could you check with Nino please?" Marinette pleaded, "You know, of course, just… casually?" Alya rolled her eyes at her best friend and looked up the ladder where her boyfriend was preparing for the concert.

"Hey Nino!" Alya grinned as she exchanged wolfish looks with Marinette, "Did you hear from Adrien by any chance?"

"He has something to do with his old man," Nino informed, "He said he would come right after."

The two girls shared a smile with one another.

"Capt'in Anarka speak'n to ya. So how's it going along me young pirates?" Juleka's mom, Captain Anarka, appeared behind the trio and grinned at them widely. "Ready to celebrate the-" She paused to take a curious look at Marinette and the box she was holding. "Whatcha up to me young lady?"

"I'm cleaning up for tonight," Marinette smiled. "Your boat's going to be as clean as a whistle."

Anarka picked up the box from Marinette's hands and cackled. "You're cleaning?" She asked incredulously. She laughed loudly and dumped the contents out of the box. "Didn't me daughter tell yee? We like the lived in look. We have no rules on the Liberty. Out of chaos comes creation!" Anarka threw her hands up in the air, "Messiness if life!"

Marinette only sighed at the fact her hard work was dumped to the ground. They left the laughing captain alone and Marinette decided that she should clean at least one thing so she picked up a metal statue. The trio walked to the captain's deck to view the steering wheel.

"So, is Lee coming?" Alya asked. She seemed a little nervous, but Marinette wasn't really sure.

"I think so," Marinette replied as she placed the statue near the ship's handle and pulled out her phone. "He said he would be a little late though."

"I see," Alya hummed.

Ring, ring.

Marinette perked up when she heard Nino's phone ring. Nino smiled at the two girls before he picked up.

"What's up dude?" Nino called out to Adrien with a grin. It slipped away in a matter of seconds, "What happened? Woah that's real rough. Good luck dude. See you tomorrow!"

Nino and Alya turned to Marinette who was disheartened by Nino's reaction. They could all guess that Adrien wouldn't be able to come to the concert today. Nino and Alya exchanged glances with each other. Nino then made a head gesture towards the door and walked away when Alya approved of his decision. Alya hugged Marinette from the back.

"Well it's not the first time his dad stopped Adrien from coming to one of our hangouts," Alya tried to cheer up Marinette, "Actually I would've been super surprised if Adrien came."

"Woah, hoho sailor!" Juleka's mom walked into the room and she picked the statue up, away from the handle. "Never put metal near a compass! Yahear lass?" Anarka gave a demonstration with her explanation, "Metal attracts the compass just like a magnet which is why you can't get them anywhere near each other."

"I know how it feels," Marinette sighed dejectedly as she watched the compass go crazy every time the statue came near it, "Maybe I'm like the statue and Adrien's my compass. Maybe we're meant to stay away from each other forever."

"I think it's the other way around," Alya grinned, "He's the statue and you're the compass that goes crazy whenever he gets close!" Alya demonstrated the compass going crazy as she shoved the statue near the compass with a fox like grin. She placed the statue away from the wheel and draped her arms around Marinette's shoulders, "There'll be other chances Marinette."

"That's what you said last time," Marinette shook her head, "And the time before that."

"We're ready captain!" Rose appeared at the entrance to the captain's room. She raised her hand to her head to salute Anarka. Juleka was behind her. Rose glanced at Juleka before looking back at Anarka, "Uh, but Luka's missing."

"Marinette, right?" Anarka asked the droopy child.

"Yes ma'am," Marinette looked up, "Uh, captain."

"Since you are free from your cleaning duties, the captain smiled, "Could you tell Luka that we're waiting for him? To start rehearsals." She pointed down to the rooms with her thumb.

"Of course!" Marinette said, "But who's Luka… and where is he?"

"Luka's my son," Anarka smiled, "You'll find him in his cabin."

Marinette glanced at Alya who winked. Marinette smiled faintly before walking below the deck to the rooms where Juleka informed was their sleeping quarters. The ship was definitely messy, but at least it had its own zing to it.

Marinette carefully walked to a room and was surprised to see a boy meditating there on top of a bed. The boy opened his eyes and caught Marinette staring, causing her to flush.

"Uh, um hey!" Marinette stuttered, "My name is Mama… Mamamamarinette! Your mom sent me down here. Err the groove… uh, the group's waiting for you."

"Hello, Mamamamarinette," the boy said. He had a husky voice. The handsome boy laughed into his hand with a soft smile. Still Marinette couldn't help but frown at his response. "Sorry," he apologized quickly and bashfully. "I tend to make more sense with this." He pulled out a guitar and started to play a chord. He motioned Marinette to sit on the other side of his bed.

"That's strange," he said, "It seems as if you have something like this in your heart." He played a soft melody that represented Marinette's heart. It truly felt like her melody.

"How do you do that?' Marinette asked.

"Music is often more simpler than words," he answered.

Marinette flushed and quickly found something else to do than to share the bed. She stood up and walked over to the Jagged Stone poster. She also noticed a guitar pick of Jagged Stone's face.

"You like Jagged Stone's music?" Marinette asked with a smile on her face.

"He's my favorite singer," the boy, most likely Luka, replied breezily.

"Mine too," Marinette confessed. Her face heated up when Luka walked up to her.

"you can have it if you want," Luka shrugged, "I have plenty."

Just then they heard a knock and both Luka and Marinette turned to spot a boy with braided hair. He was leaning on the wall with one hand across his chest and another on the wall indicating how he made the knocking sounds. His hand fell back down so he could cross them.

"You guys are slow," Lee replied flatly.

"Oh!" Marinette flushed more, everyone must be waiting for them!

"I think I better join the," Luka rolled his eyes playfully, "The groove, you said."

Lee smirked at Luka's words causing the other boy to shake his head.

"You're a funny girl Marinette," Luka smiled. Then he walked away with Lee to meet the group.

…

Adrien was listening to the news about the music festival that was happening today in Paris. He was upset that he wasn't allowed to go to his friends' concert too. Plagg must've felt his sadness because he automatically tried to cheer Adrien up.

"Come on now, don't be so down in the dumps," Plagg said, "Look at the bright side, now you can enjoy all of the concerts without leaving the comforts of your own room!"

"I just wanted to go to my friends' concert Plagg," Adrien replied glumly.

"Then why didn't you say so?" Plagg grinned, "As your friend, I'm going to give you a private concert that you will never forget!" He then moved up to the computer and turned it off. Gaining Adrien's full attention, the kwami cleared his throat and began to sing off tune. "Camembert, you're the cheese of my dreams! Camembert! You make life better than it seems!"

Adrien smiled at Plagg's attempt to cheer him up. "Thanks Plagg, best concert ever." He was still sad over the recent events, but Plagg's concert and effort definitely made his day better. Adrien then played on his piano and practiced the song that he failed to please his father with. Plagg shook his head sadly at the sight and flew away.

…

"Are you okay girl?" Alya asked when Marinette came to take a seat. Lee had initially refused to play in the band despite his talents and was watching further back. Marinette gave Lee a small wave and smile and received a nod in return. After she was staring at Luka but it seems as if Alya caught her. Alya's lips twisted into a grin, "I'm thinking Marinette the compass has found herself a new statue."

"What? Luka?" Marinette looked away and tossed her hand back, "No way. You're being ridiculous. Sure he's cool and nice and everything, but there's only one statue that keeps this compass crazy."

"Hoho!" Anarka grinned as she took the stage, "Let's get the show started!"

Mylène sat next to Marinette and handed Marinette and Alya a pair of earplugs. "You're going to need these," she claimed, "trust me."

Alya and Marinette thanked their friend and wore the earplugs. They were shocked to hear the loud music from Luka's guitar. A few moments later the police arrived and started to accuse Anarka of being too loud.

Lee walked up to the group of adults and stated that having the music to the maximum volume available was his idea because to him, it represented liberty and everyone would be able to hear their music. The captain readily agreed with Lee, but Cop Rogers wasn't amused.

He started to rant towards Lee, but Anarka intercepted stating that he was doing injustice to a child and not an adult. Cop Rogers found a new target to throw his anger on and he verbally fought her while handing dozens of tickets. Anarka argued that the ship was called 'Liberty' for a reason and ripped the tickets up causing Cop Rogers to give her twice the more tickets in anger for mundane things.

It only took a few more minutes for Anarka and her ship to be akumatized.

"Oh no!" Marinette exclaimed.

"Raise the sail me deckhands," the akumatized Anarka said, "Let's get swashbuckling around here! Arrharhar!"

"Mom?" Juleka asked, wide-eyed.

"What's going on here?" Luka asked alongside his younger sister.

"Your mom has wane anger me lad! I am Capt'in Harkrock and today Paris's timbers are about to be shivered by my canons!" Captain Hardrock shouted. She used her telescope to spot Jagged Stone. "Westward hold! Next stop, Liberty, to Jagged Stone at the Eiffel Tower!" The telescope transformed into a sword. "Soon there will be only one concert in Paris, only one music festival! We will destroy all the others!" Captain Hardrock shouted. "Now get to your instruments frogs and get those decimals!"

"Mom," Luka pleaded, "Please, you can't ruin the music festival!"

"You can't force people to listen to your music," Marinette stated.

"What she said," Lee supplied as he jabbed his thumb towards Marinette's way.

"No way we're playing like this!" Ivan shouted.

"Mutiny?!" Captain Hardrock cried, "On my ship?! Liberty! Seize these scalawags and throw them down into the hold!" She pointed her sword at the children and chains flew in. They bundled the students into pairs except for Lee who was binded alone. Then they were dropped down below the deck.

Lee was the first one to set himself free. He was muttering under his breath for a little while before he looked up towards the other groups.

"Are you going to help us Lee?" Marinette asked Lee who looked like he was about to leave. Lee hummed in thought. Marinette noticed how everyone else seemed to be a bit perturbed at how Lee had to think about the answer. It got worse when he shook his head and walked away.

"It's probably safer to stay here," Lee excused.

Everyone else groaned. After a little while from Lee's absence, Marinette noticed Tikki trying to get her attention. Tikki winked at Marinette who glanced around the room before smiling. Marinette nodded her head a little and Tikki unlocked the chains and set Marinette and Luka free.

"Wow, how did you do that?" Luka asked, amazed, as he stared at Marinette.

Marinette stuttered, "With this!" She pulled out the guitar pick that Luka gave her earlier.

"You're amazing Marinette," Luka praised, "A real magician."

"You think so?" Marinette flushed, "Oh, it was nothing." Marinette then paused and looked up redder than before, "Amazing? Really?"

"'Scuse me but some of us are still chained up here you know," Alya teased. Marinetted let out an embarrassed scream and everyone heard Captain Hardrock walk in. Luka and Marinette escaped to the next room and closed the door. They noticed a window that was already opened and they guess that Lee escaped through it.

Luka then motioned Marinette to hide under the bed and Marinette looked at him gratefully. There was no way they could swim to the nearest land. Just as the door swung open, Luka screamed out the open window.

"Run Marinette, quick!"

"Seize him!" Captain Hardrock shouted. Luka let out a yell as chains dug into his skin and dragged him back to his sister and her friends. Captain Hardrock then looked out of the window and huffed. "She won't get very far." Then the captain shut the window and the door.

"Tikki, I have to save my friends," Marinette looked at her Kwami determinedly, "Tikki, spots on!"

…

Ladybug moved to the deck and noticed that Silver Panda was already there fighting the Captain. From the corner of her eyes she saw Chat Noir's entrance and quickly saved him from flying chains.

To make matters worse, the police appeared on boats shouting at the captain to stop and follow orders. Captain Hardrock did not seem to like what was being said because she blew them out of the water. The three heroes quickly left to save the police officers.

"Thank you Ladybug, Chat Noir, Silver Panda," Officer Rogers exclaimed.

"We will take care of her, lay low until then," Ladybug ordered.

Before the heroes could move three cannon balls were shot towards them. Silver Panda knocked out the one directed at her while the other two heroes dodged the attacks.

"I hope you got your sea legs kitty," Ladybug hummed.

"I'll be purrfect as long as I stay dry," Chat Noir replied with a grin.

"Sure," Silver Panda teasingly hummed (much to Ladybug's annoyance). It didn't take too long for the three heroes to jump back onto the ship with the akuma.

"Any idea where the akuma is?" Ladybug questioned.

"It could be the ship," Silver Panda offered. Ladybug frowned, but it was true.

"In that case a cataclysm will finish this," Chat Noir smirked as he prepared to strike.

"Wait!" Ladybug shouted. "There are prisoners in hold, if you sink this boat, they might drown!"

Silver Panda frowned, "That's a problem indeed." Her silvery eyes glinted as she snuck a glance to Captain Hardrock.

"We have to stop this ship," Ladybug stated.

Chat Noir nodded in agreement, "In that case, we'll have to anchor this ship." He rushed out and attempted to cut the sails, but they were stronger than the claws on his suit. "It's no good!" He shouted. Ladybug ran up to the steering wheel of the remodeled ship and tried to turn it.

""It's not moving!" She reported urgently. Silver Panda knocked out a few chains from their direction.

"Liberty only answers to me!" Captain Hardrock chuckled, "Seize them!"

Ladybug ducked below the deck to set the prisoners free while Silver Panda protected Chat Noir who was fighting Captain Hardrock.

"Ladybug!" Luka grabbed Ladybug's hands, "Is Marinette okay?"

"She's safe," Ladybug smiled, "She's the one who alerted me."

"That girl's extremely brave," Luka muttered softly.

Ladybug blushed, but she assured everyone safety after freeing them from their chains. Using her Lucky Charm, she received another chain.

Silver Panda and Captain Hardrock were currently duking out with each other after Chat Nori was caught. When the police came again, Captain Hardrock was distracted enough for the trio to hide and make a plan.

"We need to go fishing," Silver Panda replied at the sight of the spotted chain.

"How do we do that?" Chat Noir glanced at Silver Panda as she freed him.

"We can't do anything too rash," Ladybug frowned, "The prisoners weren't freed." Ladybug looked at the chain and then peeked over to the steering wheel that still had the compass embedded into it. "But I do have an idea."

"I can save everyone who is at the landing area," Silver Panda offered, "Just give me the signal."

Ladybug frowned but trusted the other heroine. She rushed to the steering wheel and clipped the metal chain to the wheel causing the compass to go crazy. The ship changed directions towards the park. Silver Panda worked fast and pulled a couple who was peacefully sitting on a bench out of harm's way as the ship fell to the land. Chat Noir then used cataclysm to turn the ship into dust. Silver Panda left and Ladybug finished the work off with her power.

"Pound it!" The Parisian heroes shouted as they fist bumped each other.

Chat Noir looked around futilely for Silver Panda before giving up and saluting his partner.

"Time to pull the sails up," he grinned.

Ladybug smiled as she quickly hopped away before returning to the boat as Marinette.

"Lee!" Marinette exclaimed when she noticed the boy walk towards the boat. He made it to land safely after all. Lee looked shocked at her warm welcome.

"…not mad?" Lee questioned. They both walked into the ship.

The police reappeared and started to sound check everyone on the boat which was hauled up back to the river.

"No," Marinette replied, she noticed how Lee's hair was a little wet and ruffled as if he tried to dry it all out. "You swam out there right?" Lee stayed silent as Marinette continued to talk, "You were the one to bring Ladybug weren't you?"

"No-"

"It'll be our secret," Marinette winked. Lee stared at her wide eyed. Nobody was caring for the boy when Ladybug saved the prisoners. Nobody liked Lee being on the ship with them sans Luka and his mother.

"Hi everyone!" Lee and Marinette turned to spot Adrien walking on board. He smiled as he waved.

"Adrien! Watch out for the, the, the!" Marinette stuttered and in the end Adrien tripped on an instrument that was propped up. Lee was next to Adrien in no time. He held Adrien by the waist and had his arm propped up so that the instrument wouldn't fall on the two of them.

"You good?" Lee muttered, golden eyes staring into green.

"Y-Yeah," Adrien replied. Lee released Adrien and then the case fell anyways. Lee blinked in a seeming state of shock which Marinette thought was cute in a way.

Adrien then noticed that the case opened and the instrument inside was a keyboard. When Adrien stated that he could play the difficult instrument, Luka offered him a hand with a grin.

"Great! Welcome to the band Adrien," Luka grinned.

"Thanks, uh…"

"Luka," Luka provided his name to the lost Adrien.

"Thanks Luka," Adrien smiled.

"Is the compass going crazy?" Alya whispered into Marinette's ear. Marinette flushed and lightly punched her friend who laughed.

"Ya know matey," Anarka appeared behind Marinette, "disorganization is good, if that keyboard wasn't lying around, we wouldn't have gotten us a keyboard play."

The concert began with Rose smiling widely.

"Hello everyone!" She called out, "Our name is kitty section! One, two, three!"

Lee sat next to Marinette as the song started he said, "Thanks."

Marinette glanced at Lee in shock, but Lee kept his eyes forward, not looking at her. Marinette smiled and tentatively placed a hand on his.

"You're welcome."

Lee flushed a little before he turned away, his golden eyes sparkling with embarrassment. Still, Marinette noticed that Lee didn't pull his hand away.


End file.
